2018 College Football Power Rankings Week 12

With the entire top ten of the College Football Playoff rankings winning over the weekend, there’s no change in this week’s power rankings.

 

1. Alabama (10-0) | Last week: 1

Tua Tagovailoa’s knee injury remains a concern, but he’s expected to be fine moving forward, and the Crimson Tide should have an easier time protecting their quarterback this weekend against Citadel. It would obviously be one of the biggest upsets in sports history if Alabama loses this weekend, so expect them to improve to 11-0 ahead of the Iron Bowl.

 

2. Clemson (10-0) | Last week: 2

Aside from a surprising lapse in coverage on a great punt return touchdown by Michael Walker, Clemson allowed no points against Boston College in an absolutely dominant defensive performance. The offense led by Trevor Lawrence is also extremely potent with a bunch of talent surrounding the freshman phenom quarterback. Clemson now returns south for a couple of home games to finish their regular season.

 

3. Georgia (9-1) | Last week: 3

After combining for 271 rushing yards two weeks ago, D’Andre Swift and Elijah Holyfield followed it up with 279 rushing yards (including a career-high 186 yards by Swift) in a tough matchup with Auburn. Jake Fromm isn’t putting up monster numbers, but he continues to play very well with No. 1 recruit Justin Field behind him and getting some playing time for the Bulldogs.

 

4. Ohio State (9-1) | Last week: 4

Special teams and defense keyed Ohio State’s 26-6 victory against Michigan State in East Lansing, and they separated with 17 fourth-quarter points to improve to 9-1. The Buckeyes are surprisingly flying under the radar because they haven’t been dominant this season, but they’ll look to take care of business this Saturday against Maryland before facing Michigan.

 

5. Notre Dame (10-0) | Last week: 5

Florida State is getting destroyed by everyone this season, so it was a good sign that Notre Dame did the same at home. The Fighting Irish stay home to face a hot Syracuse team, so hopefully they have starting quarterback Ian Book (ribs) back in the lineup. Either way, look for Brian Kelly’s squad to rely on Dexter Williams, who had 202 yards and two touchdowns to help the team get to 10-0.

 

6. Michigan (9-1) | Last week: 6

It wasn’t quite as dominant as expected, but Michigan took care of Rutgers by 35 points on the road, and now they just need to avoid falling to Indiana in a potential trap game with Ohio State coming up the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The defense has given up just seven points in each of the past three games.

 

7. Oklahoma (9-1) | Last week: 7

Oklahoma’s defense doesn’t inspire much confidence, but the offense is putting up nearly 50 points per game, which should keep them in most contests. The Sooners also need to avoid looking past Kansas with a huge Big 12 matchup up next when they face West Virginia in a couple weeks. A dominant defensive showing this weekend would be a positive sign.

 

8. UCF (9-0) | Last week: 8

A quick start by McKenzie Milton and the Knights helped spring a 35-24 victory over Navy, extending UCF’s winning streak to an astonishing 22 games. UCF just needs to keep winning games and ignore the CFP rankings.

 

9. Washington State (9-1) | Last week: 9

After falling behind 7-0, Washington State outscored Colorado 31-0 in the final three quarters of the game. Graduate transfer Gardner Minshew continues to play great quarterback to lead the Cougars offense, while the defense has allowed just 20 points in the last two weeks.

 

10. LSU (8-2) | Last week: 10

Arizona made it close with 14 fourth-quarter points, but LSU bounced back from their disappointing loss to Alabama to improve to 8-2. The Tigers aren’t so good that they can just look past an opponent, but they should be able to handle Rice on Saturday before closing out the regular season against Texas A&M. It’s interesting the committee thinks so highly of LSU despite two losses this season.