Welcome to the 2018 BSL Deified Dozen rankings. Each week during the season our panel of experts will rank the Top 12 teams in college football. Members of our panel include: CT Schwink, Rob Shields, Mike Lowe, Zack Kiesel, Brian (Pedro Cerrano) McGuire, Chris (Ricker Says) Ricker, Steve Birrer, Mike Randall and Chris Garman.
Week 13, a.k.a. Rivalry Week, of the college football season yielded one major result that impacted the Deified Dozen and Playoff picture, and a couple others that created some movement in our rankings as well. The big game of the day was The Big Game, the annual meeting of Michigan and Ohio State. Once again it was the Buckeyes taking down their rivals to the north, and winning the Big Ten East. This ended any realistic hopes for the Wolverines to get in the Playoff, and kept OSU’s alive.
The two other notable matchups included Oklahoma defeating West Virginia and Washington beating Washington State. The Sooners win moved them up to #5 and has them right on the doorstep of the Playoff (the CFP Committee has the same 1-8 rankings as we do). And the Apple Cup rivals now share the 12th and final spot in our Dozen.
Now it’s on to Championship Weekend. The biggest game of them all is the SEC Championship featuring #1 Alabama and #4 Georgia. As much as both of them would probably prefer not to play this game, so they could just hold their current Playoff spots, the SEC and all the entities paying the SEC money to see a game say they have too. The matchup would appear to be far more crucial for Georgia, as a loss would certainly knock them out of a Playoff spot, while Alabama could very conceivably stay in the Top 4 with a loss.
The two other important games feature #5 Oklahoma playing #9 Texas for the Big 12 title and #6 Ohio State playing Northwestern for the championship of the Big Ten. Either of those two teams could move into the 4th and final playoff spot if Georgia falters. Finally, #2 Clemson just needs to avoid a shocking upset to Pitt in the ACC championship, while #3 Notre Dame can confidently watch everything from the comfort of their recliners since they seem unlikely to drop with a 12-0 finish.
Rounding out the Power 5 championship games is #12 Washington playing Utah for the Pac-12 Championship, which this year is worth no more than a trip to Pasadena on New Years. And speaking of New Years bowl games, #8 UCF can seal its 2nd straight trip to a major bowl by beating Memphis in the AAC title game. If the Knights falter, look for the winner or the Mountain West CCG game between Boise State and Fresno State to claim the coveted Group of Five spot.
You can join in the 2018 Deified Dozen discussion here.
College Football Analyst
Mike is a Baltimore native living in Portland, OR since 2007. He currently runs his own business specializing in video production and online marketing. Prior to that he was a legal technology consultant, worked for 9 years at Johns Hopkins University and served 6 years in the Air Force. He also enjoys travel, food, beer, and is a volunteer at the Oregon Humane Society.