The 2022 college football season has come to a close.
As an Associated Press top 25 voter, I shared my ballot week by week, providing a peek behind the curtain. From the preseason poll to now, there have been plenty of changes. Texas A&M, you had so many of us fooled.
But now that Georgia has been crowned the champion and eyes turn to 2023, it’s time to reveal my final ballot, which was submitted immediately after the title game. Give it a look and let me know what you think — especially where Penn State landed after its Rose Bowl win over Utah.
(Previous rankings from the end of the regular season are in parentheses.)
Dropped: Texas (22), UTSA (23), James Madison (25)
25. Air Force (NR)
24. Fresno State (24)
23. Mississippi State (NR)
22. UCLA (18)
21. Pitt (NR)
I swear I’m not picking on the state of Texas. But without star tailback Bijan Robinson, the Longhorns couldn’t keep up with Washington’s Michael Penix in the Alamo Bowl and added a fifth loss to their resume. UTSA fell to Troy in the Cure Bowl.
Pitt, without two All-Americans (Calijah Kancey, Israel Abanikanda) and quarterback Kedon Slovis, upset UCLA in the Sun Bowl. Mississippi State, after the passing of Mike Leach, beat Illinois in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Fresno State won over Washington State in the LA Bowl while Air Force upended Baylor in the Armed Forces Bowl.
Fresno State ended its season on a nine-game winning streak. Pitt and Air Force wrapped up with a five-game heater. Mississippi State won its third straight.
James Madison, after making the jump from the FCS to the FBS, wasn’t allowed to compete in the postseason despite its 8-3 record. It’s a dumb rule. But I felt compelled to rank both Mississippi State and Pitt, and leaving the Dukes off my final ballot was the only way to reasonably make room.
20. South Carolina (19)
19. Troy (21)
18. Notre Dame (20)
17. Oregon (17)
16. Oregon State (16)
Troy ousting UTSA two weeks after winning the Sun Belt title and finishing 12-2 was a nice way for the Trojans to end their season.
South Carolina was hit with a ton of opt outs in the Gator Bowl and still almost beat Notre Dame. I didn’t want to knock the Gameco*cks too much for losing 45-38, especially with the way they ended the season with wins over Tennessee and Clemson. Notre Dame also earned a small bump up, but nothing crazy.
Oregon and Oregon State remained in their same spots. The Ducks survived North Carolina in the Holiday Bowl while the Beavers — who, some forget, have the head-to-head win over Oregon — blew the doors off Florida in Las Vegas.
15. LSU (15)
14. Florida State (14)
13. Kansas State (10)
12. USC (9)
11. Utah (8)
10. Clemson (7)
With opt outs and injuries, I don’t like to overvalue bowl games. The 12-game regular season is a better measuring stick. So I didn’t want to penalize USC, Clemson, Kansas State and Utah too much for losing their New Year’s Six games, especially after the Tigers, Wildcats and Utes already won conference championships.
But USC collapsed in its Cotton Bowl loss to Tulane. Clemson failed to finish offensively in an Orange Bowl defeat to Tennessee. Kansas State, after holding a tentative lead, was dusted by Alabama. Utah hung tough for a while, but was gashed by Penn State and fell apart when quarterback Cam Rising went out injured.
Each team falling a few spots feels fair.
Meanwhile, Florida State and LSU remain at 14 and 15, respectively. LSU overwhelmed an Aidan O’Connell-less Purdue in the Citrus Bowl, and Florida State edging out Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl. LSU has a better resume, but don’t forget that the Tigers lost to the Seminoles in the opener.
9. Tulane (13)
8. Washington (12)
7. Penn State (11)
6. Alabama (6)
5. Tennessee (5)
Penn State slotting in at No. 7 seemed like the sweet spot.
The Nittany Lions’ only losses were to two teams that reached the College Football Playoffs, and they finished with an emphatic win over the Pac-12 champions. It was a heck of a year for James Franklin and his program. Winning the Rose Bowl was a fitting sendoff for Sean Clifford and the seniors, and it should provide an ideal launching point for Nick Singleton and the talented freshmen entering 2023.
The Nittany Lions deserve to be firmly in the top 10. And you could make the case that they could beat Tennessee or Alabama. But the Vols and Tide have multiple ranked wins on their resumes and also dominated their New Year’s Six bowl games against Power Five champions. I had Tennessee and Alabama ranked ahead of Penn State going into bowl season, and I see no reason to change that.
Another note: Tulane earned this. The Green Wave beat Kansas State in September to gain momentum. They took down USC to end the season. Willie Fritz has something good going in New Orleans, and it’s fun to see.
4. Ohio State (4)
3. Michigan (2)
2. TCU (3)
1. Georgia (1)
Ohio State’s effort against Georgia was better than Michigan losing as a favorite to TCU. But the Wolverines handily defeated the Buckeyes in the regular season; that’s an easy tiebreaker. And Georgia beat TCU. It was a historically-bad loss for TCU. But the Horned Frogs reached the national title game. Simple as that.
Can’t wait for next season.
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