The week three College Football Playoff rankings are in and some big changes are in store. With teams like Florida State and SMU falling out of the mix, this week’s rankings bring to the forefront some surprising front runners.
Week three College Football Playoff predictions
1. Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns look the part annihilating their opponents so far in 2024, including a 52-0 home opener which saw the programs first shutout since 2004 to open the season. They also went on the road to defeat the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines 31-12.
2. Oregon Ducks
The Ducks look good again under third year head coach Dan Lanning who now has a combined record of 25-5 at the school. The Ducks seem to have gotten things in order after a rough first couple weeks defeating the Oregon State Beavers 49-14 in Corvallis in week three.
3. Kansas State Wildcats
Coach Chris Klieman may be the most underrated coach in college football. Every year, the Wildcats are seemingly contending for a New Years Six bowl appearance. And with the exit of Oklahoma and Texas from the Big 12, the inevitably makes the Wildcat’s a favorite to win the league.
Quarterback Avery Johnson led the Wildcats to an impressive 31-7 victory Friday night against the 20th ranked Arizona Wildcats to improve them to 3-0 on the season. Things seem to be rounding into form for the team in Manhattan.
4. Virginia Tech Hokies
Kyron Drones is such a dynamic athlete that despite the week one loss to Vanderbilt, the Hokies should keep clicking more and more of offense as the year progresses. Since the week one defeat, the Hokies have rattled off two wins in a row against group of five opponents and seem to be getting things in order down in Blacksburg.
5. Ole Miss Rebels
The only reason the Rebels are not higher is because Texas wins the SEC in what I believe is a matchup of the two programs. The Rebels clicked again on offense under third year starting quarterback Jaxson Dart with his arsenal of weapons in year three.
The Rebels also seem to have found an elite running back in Henry Parrish Jr. who ran for 148 yards and two touchdowns in their week three win over Wake Forest 40-6.
6. Utah Utes
Cam Rising is back healthy and it is showing. The fourth-year quarterback has thrown for seven touchdowns through his first three games and looks to have the Utes position for a playoff run.
7. Miami Hurricanes
After an impressive 41-17 victory in week one over the Florida Gators in Gainesville, the Hurricanes have kept rolling crushing the competition behind starting quarterback Cam Ward.
Ward has already thrown for 1,035 yards and 11 touchdowns through his first three games. With a down ACC, the Hurricanes look to be the team that is everything but.
8. Tennessee Volunteers
The Tennessee Volunteers have impressed so far handling the competition that they should, and still managing to crush the tougher competition they have faced in NC State. First year starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava seems to be growing each week in Josh Heupel’s offense as the Vols continue their question towards a College Football Playoff run.
The most surprising piece of the Vols however and maybe the most impressive is their defense. Everyone knew about James Pearce Jr. who led the SEC with 10 sacks in 2023, but beyond that it was unknown. The Vols also had to replace their entire starting secondary heading into 2024. Well, that has thrived putting them in the spotlight for a playoff run.
9. USC Trojans
The Trojans impressed in week zero against the LSU Tigers in Las Vegas defeating them 27-20 to return home against Utah State and blank the Aggies 48-0. Head coach Lincoln Riley is known for developing quarterbacks, and Miller Moss seems to be the next man up.
The Trojans look to have a lot of star power along with an improved defense. Watch for them to make a playoff run in the Big 10 as a possibly third team alongside Oregon and Ohio State.
10. Ohio State Buckeyes
Although the Buckeyes have taken care of business so far, they have had no real test and have a starting quarterback in Will Howard who completed only 57% of his passes in 2023.
11. Georgia Bulldogs
The Bulldogs took a big hit here from my previous rankings that had them at number one. The one reason is offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. Bobo’s offense looked inept against a Kentucky Wildcats teams that just lost to South Carolina at home.
In his first go around under Mark Richt at Georgia as offensive coordinator, much of the same appeared to happen in the Bulldogs’ inability to put forward a high-powered offense.
The Bulldogs will win games, but it will be because of their defense as we saw this past week in Lexington where they pulled it out in an ugly contest 13-12. This is not good if you want a high seed in the playoffs.
12. Memphis Tigers
Although the Florida State Seminoles are down, the Tigers handled business against the power four program and continue their quest towards the top ranked group of five school at the end of the year to obtain the 12-spot.
Starting quarterback Seth Henigan appears to be in full command of the offense, throwing for 741 yards and five touchdowns on the year so far.