Colin loves using Vegas to back up his points, well except this time:
The big storyline in this week's College Football Vegas Rankings is the gap between Alabama and Oklahoma and the rest of the field. Alabama is still the clear No. 1, but after Oklahoma the gap is 4.5 points between the Sooners and Ohio State and Michigan State. One of the big winners from this past weekend was TCU, which moved from 13th to sixth after a win over Baylor.
The CFB Vegas Rankings are the composite power ratings of a panel of professional handicappers and college football statisticians, including fellow Insider Phil Steele, Brian Edwards and Bruce Marshall of The Gold Sheet. The ratings are intended to weigh the relative strength of the teams if they met on a neutral field and to be compared to the point spread on a given game. For example, if Alabama and Oklahoma were to play on a neutral field this week, the Crimson Tide would be considered a 1-point favorite by our ratings. Here's a look at the 25 best teams in college football right now, according to our panel.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide (49.5)
Last week: 1st (49)
Alabama remains the No. 1 team in the country in the College Football Vegas Rankings. The Crimson Tide are one win away from a berth in the College Football Playoff, as they face Florida in the SEC championship game. Alabama is currently listed as a 17.5-point favorite.
2. Oklahoma Sooners (48.5)
Last week: 3rd (46.5)
Oklahoma put up one last great performance on Saturday, beating Oklahoma State in what was basically a Big 12 championship game. At this point it is hard to see Oklahoma not making the final four without a game left to play before bowl season.
T-3. Ohio State Buckeyes (44)
Last week: T-7 (42)
Without a berth in the Big Ten championship game, Ohio State's regular season ended Saturday with a win over Michigan. The Buckeyes finished the regular season 11-1 straight up and 5-7 against the spread, and barring Ohio State making the College Football Playoff and covering the spread in both games, it will be the first time since 2011 the Buckeyes will finish below .500 ATS.
T-3. Michigan State Spartans (44)
Last week: 5th (44)
Tied for third in the College Football Vegas Rankings with the Buckeyes is Michigan State. The Spartans won their side of the Big Ten and face Iowa in the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis this week as three-point favorites.
5. Clemson Tigers (42.5)
Last week: 2nd (47)
After beating South Carolina but failing to cover the spread, Clemson ended the regular season 5-5-2 ATS. The Tigers will have an opportunity to climb above .500 when they face North Carolina in the ACC championship game this week. Clemson is a six-point favorite, its lowest spread since facing Notre Dame earlier this season.
T-6. TCU Horned Frogs (41.5)
Last week: T-13 (40)
TCU beat Baylor to end its regular season 6-6 ATS. The Horned Frogs will be going to a bowl game as they have 10 wins this season, but with two losses they are very unlikely to make the College Football Playoff. The Horned Frogs only covered back-to-back games once this season, in October against Iowa State and West Virginia.
T-6. Baylor Bears (41.5)
Last week: 4th (45.5)
Baylor had the opportunity of a lifetime against TCU this past week but fell short 28-21. The reason Baylor had such a great opportunity was that unlike other Big 12 teams, it still has one game left, against Texas. The Bears are 5-6 ATS entering that matchup.
T-6. Stanford Cardinal (41.5)
Last week: T-7 (42)
Stanford started the season 6-1 ATS. After beating Notre Dame but failing to cover the spread, the team is just 2-3 ATS in its past five games. Stanford plays USC in the Pac-12 championship game and is listed as 4.5-point favorites.
9. North Carolina Tar Heels (41)
Last week: T-11 (40.5)
With the win and cover against NC State, the Tar Heels improved to 11-1 straight up and 8-4 ATS on the season. North Carolina now faces Clemson in the ACC championship game as 6-point underdogs. North Carolina has been an underdog twice this season before this week (South Carolina and Georgia Tech).
T-10. Iowa Hawkeyes (40.5)
Last week: T-13 (40)
Iowa finished its regular season 12-0 straight up and now face Michigan State in the Big Ten championship to stay in the College Football Playoff race. Iowa finished the regular season 7-5 ATS, but never covered three straight games.
T-10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (40.5)
Last week: T-7 (42)
Notre Dame is bowl-bound after winning 10 games this season, but after a loss to Stanford, the Fighting Irish's playoff hopes are over. Notre Dame ended the regular season 6-5-1 ATS, its first ATS record of more than .500 since 2012.
12. Ole Miss Rebels (40)
Last week: 17th (38.5)
Mississippi won the Egg Bowl against rival Mississippi State on the road this past week to improve to 9-3 straight up and 8-4 ATS on the season. Ole Miss ended up being listed as an underdog only once this season, against Alabama when it upset the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa.
T-13. Oregon Ducks (39.5)
Last week: 6th (42.5)
Oregon started the season by losing three of its first four games ATS, but even after failing to cover against Oregon State in the Civil War, Oregon ended the year 7-5 ATS after covering five of its past six.
T-13. Florida State Seminoles (39.5)
Last week: T-15 (39)
Florida State finished off its regular season with a 27-2 win over Florida in Gainesville. The Seminoles ended the year 8-4 ATS, their first eight-win ATS season since 2013, when they finished the year 11-3 ATS and a perfect 14-0 overall.
T-15. Oklahoma State Cowboys (37)
Last week: T-15 (39)
Oklahoma State finished the regular season with three straight ATS losses to Iowa State, Baylor and Oklahoma. Oklahoma State was listed as an underdog four times this season. In its first two games as an underdog, it won both outright. In its last two, it lost to Baylor and Oklahoma.
T-15. Michigan Wolverines (37)
Last week: T-11 (40.5)
Michigan lost at home to Ohio State to make the Wolverines 6-6 ATS this season, losing four of their past six ATS. Jim Harbaugh got Michigan to a bowl game, but at one point a spot in the playoff was potentially in sight.
T-17. Florida Gators (36.5)
Last week: 10th (41)
A main theme in Florida's season was a lack of offense. In the Gators' 12 regular-season games, the under hit in eight. Florida finished the regular season 7-4-1 ATS after failing to cover three of its past four games.
T-17. Tennessee Volunteers (36.5)
Last week: 23rd (35)
An overall successful season for Tennessee ended with a final win over Vanderbilt to finish 8-4 straight up and 7-5 ATS. Tennessee even finished SEC play above .500 ATS with a record of 5-4.
T- 19. Arkansas Razorbacks (36)
Last week: 22nd (35.5)
After a 1-3 straight up and ATS start to the season, Arkansas bounced back and ended the season on a 6-2 ATS run to finish 7-5 straight up/ATS this season. The Razorbacks even finished 4-1 ATS as underdogs.
T-19. USC Trojans (36)
Last week: NR
USC made its way back into the College Football Vegas Rankings after a win over rival UCLA. As a result, USC climbed back to 6-6 ATS on the season and still has an opportunity in the Pac 12 championship game against Stanford.
T-19. Northwestern Wildcats (36)
Last week: 25th (34)
Northwestern finished the season 8-4 ATS, its first eight-win ATS season since going an amazing 12-1 ATS in 2012. Northwestern finished the season covering four of its past five games, with its only loss coming to Purdue.
T-19. Houston Cougars (36)
Last week: NR
Houston had failed to cover three straight games heading into its final regular-season game against Navy, and the Cougars came out on top. Houston finished 11-1 straight up and 7-5 ATS and made its way back into the College Football Vegas Rankings.
23. Temple Owls (34.5)
Last week: NR
Temple is the third and final team that was unranked in these rankings last week. The Owls beat Connecticut to finish the year 10-2 straight up and 9-3 ATS; the nine ATS wins are Temple's highest since 2011.
T-24. Utah Utes (34)
Last week: 24th (34.5)
Utah failed to cover its past three games of the regular season against Arizona, UCLA and Colorado. The Utes finished the season 5-7 ATS, failing to cover five of their past six games.
T-24. Mississippi State Bulldogs (34)
Last week: 21st (36)
The final team in the College Football Vegas Rankings is Mississippi State, which lost in the Egg Bowl to Ole Miss this past week. The Bulldogs still finished 7-5 ATS on the season, covering four of their past six games.