The regular season is in the books, and while there are crucial games remaining in the College Football Playoff race, most of the work has been done when it comes to ranking all 133 FBS programs for the 2023 season.
With a full data set of 12 games, the experts from CBS Sports and 247Sports who vote in the CBS Sports 133 have mostly settled on their order by the time we get into Week 13. Unexpected upsets and important results that can decide some tiebreakers up and down a ballot always occur in the final week of the regular season, but when chalk holds, so too will a majority of spots in the rankings.
So it comes as no surprise that the top 14 teams from last week’s CBS Sports 133 are still in the top 14, with just two notable adjustments.
Ohio State dropped from No. 3 to No. 7 after a 30-24 loss at Michigan, which held its spot at No. 2 behind Georgia at No. 1 after the win. The Buckeyes landed one spot ahead of Alabama, which is notable for playoff debates, but are the third one-loss team in the rankings behind Oregon and Texas.
Washington moved up for the second week in a row thanks to the opening, taking over the No. 3 spot after bumping Florida State from No. 4 one week ago. The Seminoles, which survived a hard-fought win at Florida in its first game without Jordan Travis at starting quarterback this season, are also up one spot in a return to No. 4.
Louisville’s fall from No. 9 to No. 14 after losing at home to Kentucky had a similar impact on the rankings; the teams that were No. 10 to No. 14 in last week’s rankings all moved up one spot without a change in the order. That shake-up means, among other things, a return to to the top 10 for Oklahoma, which finished the year on a three-game winning streak after taking a tumble in the rankings in early November following back-to-back losses to Kansas and Oklahoma State.
The biggest week-to-week change for teams that were ranked in the top 30 last week was a seven-spot drop for Kansas State after losing a snow-covered shootout at home to Iowa State. For more on the Wildcats and other notable ranking adjustments following Week 13 action, check out the Mover’s Report below the top 25 table.
College football experts from CBS Sports and 247Sports contribute ballots each week, which are averaged together for our rankings. You can see the top 25 below and 26-133 on our rankings page.
Well, it’s safe to scratch one name off Syracuse’s head coaching search list — and it’s one of the biggest that has been making the rounds. Despite his status as a potential candidate and some smoke that there was serious interest between the two sides, Dan Mullen took to social media to nip any rumors in the bud. Mullen had initially sent out a post defending Ohio State coach Ryan Day after his loss to Michigan. One user responded with a GIF featuring Syracuse players dancing, and Mullen saw that as an opportunity to officially withdraw from the running.
“Love the cuse. But will not be the next head coach.” Mullen wrote.
Mullen, who currently serves as a college football television analyst, has been a hot name to return to coaching since his tenure with Florida ended in 2021. He has a buyout from UF that will net him at least $1 million each year through 2027.
Mullen got off to an outstanding start with the Gators, though the program suffered a sharp decline in his final year. He was hired in 2018 and won at least 10 games in each of his first two seasons, claiming a pair of New Year’s Six bowl victories (Peach and Orange) and guiding the Gators to back-to-back top-10 finishes in the AP Top 25 poll.
Florida won the SEC East in 2020 and came just six points short of beating Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. The Gators looked like they had a strong chance to keep things rolling in 2021 amid a 3-1 start to the year, but a series of upset losses to unranked opponents and a record that dropped to 5-6 led to Mullen’s firing on Nov. 21, 2021.
Prior to his time at Florida, Mullen enjoyed a successful stint at Mississippi State. Taking the job in 2009, he inherited a team that had just one winning season since the turn of the century. He led State to a 9-4 finish in his second year. In 2014, he guided the Bulldogs to their first 10-win season in 15 years. He finished his time at Mississippi State with a 69-46 overall record with a 5-2 showing in bowl games. He is 103-61 in his career as a head coach.
There are three goals at Ohio State: win national titles, win the Big Ten and beat Michigan. If you accomplish all three, you become a legend. If you only accomplish two of them, you’re beloved. If you only accomplish one of them, it better be beating Michigan.
Ryan Day hasn’t accomplished any of those goals for three years running. That’s why a coach who has gone 56-7 as coach of The Ohio State Buckeyes and 40-3 in conference play finds himself on the receiving end of a lot of anger and frustration from the Ohio State fanbase. And none of this should come as a surprise.
I said this would be the case last year. The night of last season’s 45-23 loss to Michigan, I said on The Cover 3 Podcast reaction show that if Ryan Day and Ohio State failed to beat Michigan for the third straight time and didn’t win the Big Ten, he’d be in trouble. The pitchforks, which were already being polished, would finally come out.
I also said none of it would make sense, but things making sense and the sport of college football don’t find themselves in the vicinity of one another too often. While the SEC has developed a reputation of fan derangement (commonly referred to as “passion”), it is not the sole possessor of delusion amongst its constituency.
A sane person looks at the situation and points out Ryan Day has lost seven games. Those losses have come to Clemson (2019 CFP semifinal), Alabama (2020 title game), Oregon (2021 regular season), Georgia (2022 CFP semifinal) and the three losses to Michigan. Oregon is the “worst” loss of the bunch, and the Ducks reached the Pac-12 Championship Game that season. That sane person says three playoff appearances and a Rose Bowl in your first four years as coach are incredible accomplishments and points out the Buckeyes were a missed 50-yard field goal away from likely winning a national title last season. A sane person says these things. A college football fan says, “Yeah, but they’ve lost to Michigan three times in a row, stupid.”
Neither one is wrong.
Day certainly realizes this. It’s evident by everything that the Buckeyes have done in 2023. Following last season’s loss, Day initially planned to give up play-calling duties to Brian Hartline. It was short-lived, but while Day continued to call plays, there was a noticeable difference in Ohio State’s offense this season, and not only because C.J. Stroud was gone.
Plenty of detractors felt Ohio State’s problem with Michigan was a result of Michigan being the “tougher” team. Ohio State was “soft.” Given that Ohio State suddenly played a style of football that looked a lot more like the Michigan teams that have beaten it lately (goodbye style points, hello mashing teams into the dirt), and that Day’s reaction to pulling off a great win at Notre Dame earlier this year was to yell at Lou Holtz for questioning his team’s toughness, it’s clear the talk got to him. It’s also a testament to Day’s leadership that, despite all of his success, he still felt there were things he had to improve.
But it doesn’t matter because Ohio State lost to Michigan. Again. The good — or sane — news is that, while the pitchforks are out, I don’t see Ohio State firing Ryan Day any time soon. Both because the people in charge aren’t as insane as the fans and because athletic director Gene Smith is retiring next summer. I’m not sure Smith wants firing Ryan Day and conducting a coaching search to be the coda to what’s been an incredibly successful run in Columbus, Ohio..
That doesn’t mean Day will be back next year, though. The rumors that he’d leave Ohio State for Texas A&M (because there’s no better way to escape the pressure of unrealistic expectations than by taking the Texas A&M job!) or any other school is silly, but if news breaks that Day has accepted an NFL head coaching job this offseason, it won’t be much of a surprise. Ohio State is one of the best jobs on the planet for a football coach, but it’s also one of the most difficult.
Leaving it could be the sanest decision of all.
Bad Process, Good Result of the Week Speaking of delusional fan bases, Texas A&M has a new coach. It’s Duke’s Mike Elko. It’s a great hire for Texas A&M, and I have no idea how it will work out. It was nearly a disaster, however.
News broke Saturday night that A&M was on the verge of naming Kentucky’s Mark Stoops its new head coach, but it was short-lived. Whether it was backlash from the fan base, Mark Stoops changing his mind, or both, the deal went south quickly. Whatever happened, I was worried that Texas A&M was about to make the same mistake it’d made before. When powerful boosters are involved, schools often worry about showing off with their coaching hire rather than making a sensible move (again, sanity and college football do not run in the same circle) and trying to win the press conference when they need to be trying to win games.
Initial fan (and possibly booster) revolt against Stoops was an indication this could be happening in College Station, where the Kentucky coach might not have been good enough for the Aggies despite the fact he’s had more 10-win seasons in the SEC at a tougher place to win than A&M has. But then the Aggies went and redeemed themselves.
Mike Elko is precisely the kind of coach the program needs. It’s the kind of hire that says you have high expectations, but you also know you have plenty of work to do to achieve them, and the work isn’t simply “have a high-ranked recruiting class.” Elko is familiar with College Station, having spent time there as a defensive coordinator, and he won a lot of games in a short time at Duke and likely would’ve won a few more had his star quarterback Riley Leonard not gone down with an injury at the end of a loss to Notre Dame.
UPS Driver of the Week The UPS man dropped off a package and saw The Crimson Tide deliver a miracle. #RollTide # pic.twitter.com/AeC6qI5nKj
— Chris Roberts (@MassComm101) November 26, 2023 I know I’ve spent a lot of time calling college football fans insane in this column, but I remind you that I am a college football fan myself. I speak from experience. I also know that college football fans know how to treat other college football fans, so when you’re home trying to watch the Iron Bowl, and the UPS driver is ringing your doorbell, you ask them if they want to come in and watch Alabama pull off a miracle.
As I watched the Iron Bowl, I spent the entire time thinking Alabama would win the game. It had beaten itself more than Auburn was beating it, and I figured the universe would sort itself out before the clock expired. But then Alabama kept beating itself in the final minutes, and when that snap near the goal line went flying past Jalen Milroe I finally thought Alabama was going to lose to Auburn a week after Auburn had lost to New Mexico State.
But then fourth-and-31 happened. While Alabama has had plenty of things go its way over the years, it must’ve felt nice to be on the winning end of an Iron Bowl miracle for once.
Saddest Photo of the Week ‘till next time pic.twitter.com/QRUNCieytw
— The Duck (@TheOregonDuck) November 25, 2023 I never thought a photo of two mascots would stir such emotion in me, but I fully admit to getting teary-eyed when I saw this tweet. Rivalry week is always an excellent reminder of what the foundation of this wonderful sport is, and I remain concerned that we continue to chip away at that foundation with each passing season.
Don’t worry; I won’t yell at clouds this week. Instead, I’ll say that on Friday night, watching Oregon dismantle Oregon State to clinch a spot in the Pac-12 Championship, I briefly wondered if the Ducks weren’t playing like the second-best team in the country at the moment. After watching Michigan beat Ohio State, I’ll bump them down to third.
Still, the point is, while it isn’t perfect, this is an Oregon team I wouldn’t want to see in the College Football Playoff. They’ll never admit it publicly, but I guarantee you there are coaches on staffs at CFP contenders who will be rooting for Washington on Friday night.
Close Call of the Week Following yesterday’s Apple Cup win, Washington improved to 6-0 in one-score games this season. The Huskies are the only team in the country with more than four one-score wins and no one-score losses (Mizzou, Tulane and Ole Miss are all 4-0).
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) November 26, 2023 Speaking of Washington, the Huskies did it again. They improved to 12-0 with a walk-off field goal to beat Washington State in the Apple Cup 24-21. It’s nothing new for the Huskies, who won their first four games of the season by an average of 32.8 points per game and have won the last eight by an average of 6.1.
All wins count the same in the standings, no matter the final score, but this season has to have taken at least 10 years off the lives of Washington fans. I’m sure they’ll gladly pay the price if it ends with at least a Pac-12 title.
Social Media Graphic of the Week . pic.twitter.com/RmmECoKzFK
— Rice Football (@RiceFootball) November 25, 2023 Looks delicious.
Market Inefficiency of the Week
I saw the future of college football while watching Florida State outlast Florida in an ugly 24-15 game Saturday night. It was a battle of two teams down to their backup quarterbacks, though the stakes were much higher for Florida State.
It got me thinking about something we may see programs like Florida State and others with national title hopes start to do. There are a lot of quarterbacks in the transfer portal every year, and for the most part, they’re all there in search of playing time elsewhere.
But in this age of NIL, will we see the powerhouse programs search for backup QB options and lure them with paydays? I see a guy like Mississippi State’s Will Rogers enter the portal and think that’d be a great guy to have as a backup at Georgia, Ohio State, Florida State, or wherever. Rogers is good enough to start elsewhere, but he’s already put plenty on tape during his career. If he wants to play in the NFL one day, teams know who he is, and I’m not entirely sure how much he’ll improve his draft stock starting somewhere else in 2024.
He could improve his bank account quite a bit, though.
I use Rogers as an example, but it could be an experienced QB from anywhere. It’s the most valuable position in the sport, and considering college football doesn’t have a salary cap, it would make sense to invest in the entire depth chart, not just your starter. Sure, it would make recruiting and keeping kids out of high school more difficult, but it’s already nearly impossible to keep a kid in your program at the position if he doesn’t have a direct path to playing time. The possible reward is greater than the risk.
Box Score of the Week Final: Iowa State 42, Kansas State 35
Look at this damn box score.
Total plays: 102-35!!! pic.twitter.com/Dk3zMTzows
— Max Olson (@max_olson) November 26, 2023 So how does a team go about scoring 42 points and gaining 488 yards on only 35 plays? Easy! It scores on a 71-yard touchdown run, a 77-yard touchdown run, a 60-yard touchdown run, a 79-yard touchdown pass, an 82-yard touchdown pass, and a 33-yard touchdown pass.
Yep, Iowa State’s six touchdowns in the game averaged 67 yards. None of its touchdown drives lasted longer than four plays, as running back Abu Sama finished with 276 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 16 carries, while Jaylin Noel caught 3 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns. How did Kansas State allow so many big plays?
Well, it snowed, and Iowa State wore white. It’s possible Kansas State couldn’t see them.
Substantive coaching changes are part of the annual college football offseason cycle. With the early signing period becoming pivotal, athletic directors have pushed forward their timelines, not just when it comes to hiring coaches but firing them as well. Despite that, it took 11 weeks into the 2023 season for an FBS coach to be fired for their on-field performance, the latest that has happened in recent memory.
Michigan State acted quickly to find its successor to Mel Tucker by hiring Jonathan Smith away from Oregon State after Smith’s success at his alma mater. Smith is taking over a Spartans program that needs a massive overhaul after a disappointing 4-8 season. Texas A&M hired Duke’s Mike Elko to replace Jimbo Fisher on Monday. Elko has intimate knowledge of the Aggies program after spending four seasons as Fisher’s defensive coordinator from 2018-21. Mississippi State hired Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby on Sunday to replace Zach Arnett.
Tell me you won’t hear that line about 1,000 times before Saturday’s SEC Championship Game. A 5-foot-11 wide receiver from Buford, Georgia, kept Alabama’s hopes alive of going to the College Football Playoff with a miracle catch to beat Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
That’s right. A wideout from Georgia kept alive a dream to defeat Georgia. That’s getting ahead of things. The line above co-opted from old James Bond films is just the beginning. Bond, the receiver, actually wears a 007 necklace.
He certainly had a license to kill Auburn. OK, we’ll leave the puns right there. It was more like a Kick (to the junk) Six for the Tigers. Bama is still alive, but the SEC is in weird position this week. An Alabama win over Georgia puts the league in peril of missing the BCS/CFP for the first time since 2005.
With losses suffered by Ohio State and Louisville, the playoff picture is focused a bit. Mostly, pay attention that — if the four unbeaten Power Five schools (Georgia, Michigan, Washington and Florida State) win out — all the hand-wringing and contrived Tuesday night “reveals” are moot. In that scenario, the Dawgs, Wolverines, Huskies and Seminoles would go. Maybe in that order.
Take a good look. These are the last Power Rankings of 2023.
