College Football Playoff Rankings after Week 6: A shakeup in the First Four in, First Two out

In a Week 6 that included some notable upsets and lots of movement in the Top 25, we have a brand new team in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings predictions. 

Georgia, Michigan and Florida State all remain in the First Four, but after rallying to beat Texas in Red River, Dillion Gabriel and the Oklahoma Sooners round out of the field this week. 

The First Two Out remains unchanged with Ohio State and Washington, but TBD on if that lasts another week with the Buckeyes still plagued by slow starts and the Huskies bracing for a Top 10 showdown against Oregon on Saturday.

Reminder: This is not a projection of how we see the playoff shaking out by the season’s end. It’s how we think the committee would rank these teams today based on preseason rankings and what we’ve seen thus far. 

Here’s how we project the 2023 College Football Playoff Rankings would like after Week 6:

1. Georgia

The Bulldogs showed their true bite in a 51-13 blowout over No. 20 Kentucky, as Carson Beck picked apart the ‘Cats’ blitzes to throw for a career-high 379 yards and four touchdowns. 

Georgia hit the gas — and gear — that many have been waiting for, torching the ‘Cats for 15 explosive plays as it leaned into its new offensive identity. With Vandy and Florida (plus a bye week) on deck, the Bulldogs should enter November undefeated as the top team in college football.

2. Michigan

The Wolverines manhandled Minnesota 52-10, giving them their biggest blowout win in Big Ten play since 2019 — despite allowing over seven points for the first time all season. 

They continue to just hammer teams in the first half. They don’t make mistakes (just five turnovers), they don’t commit penalties (fewest in the Big Ten) and they just suck the life out of teams with a vicious balance offensively and defensively. They still haven’t played anybody (No. 111 strength of schedule so far), and won’t again for several weeks (Indiana, Michigan State and Purdue upcoming) and it doesn’t really matter.

3. Florida State

Outside of a demolition of LSU in the second-half of the season-opener, the Seminoles have looked impressive in spurts but hardly over the course of four quarters the last several weeks. They struggled against Boston College, needed a second-half rally to beat Clemson, which was notable, and then allowed a bad Virginia Tech team to rally from a three-score deficit before putting away the Hokies late. 

Still, the victories against both Tigers give FSU two of better resume wins in 2023, and the ‘Noles remain one of the most explosive teams in the country — on both sides of the ball. Jared Verse, who had a sack Saturday, is playing better each week, while Trey Benson finally looked liked Trey Benson last Saturday (200 rushing yards on just 11 carries).  

4. Oklahoma

The Sooners secured one of the best wins thus far of the 2023 season, rallying to beat archival Texas in Red River 34-30 with a late touchdown pass by Dillion Gabriel. 

It was 356 days of validation for OU head coach Brent Venables, who had his defense playing with its hair on fire (three takeaways, just three points allowed in three red zone trap) and trusted Gabriel to take them home. The Sooners will be favored in the rest of their next six games. Can they avoid a letdown and handle business?

FIRST TWO OUT

5. Ohio State 

The Buckeyes continue to underwhelm for 2-3 quarters before either turning on the jets (as they did against Maryland in the second half Saturday) or doing just enough to win (as they did at Notre Dame two weeks ago). Kyle McCord had the best game of his career versus the Terps, but can he replicate that performance against Penn State in two weeks or at Michigan at the end of the season?

6. Washington 

The Huskies were idle this week, and while they prepped for a monster matchup against Oregon in Seattle on Saturday, their so-so showing against a frisky Arizona team suddenly doesn’t look so bad after the Wildcats pushed USC to the brink — and arguably should’ve upset the Trojans. 

The Huskies could potentially crack the Top 4 with a win over the Ducks, but they could lose their chance to control their fate in the Pac-12 race with a home loss. So the stakes are high!