#1 Georgia (13-0, 8-0 SEC)
The only thing you can really describe this year’s Bulldog team as is dominant. They plowed through their schedule, which isn’t easy given that they are in the SEC. They put up another dominant performance in the SEC Championship game after beating LSU, 50-30. Throughout the season, they only gave up over 20 points three times and shut out two of their opponents. For a team that lost their entire defense last year to the draft, they have been one of the most impressive teams to watch this season. They no doubt deserve the #1 spot in the rankings.
Season Grade: A-

#2 Michigan (13-0, 9-0 Big 10)
An underrated team this year in college football is the Wolverines. We weren’t sure what their QB situation was going to be with McNamara and McCarthy. They seemed to have figured it out pretty quickly and breezed through their schedule after McCarthy won the starting job. They also only allowed over 20 points three times this season. They earned every bit of their #2 spot in the rankings, and that was shown after destroying then-ranked #2 Ohio State on the road.
Season Grade: A

#3 TCU (12-1, 9-0 Big 12)
A surprising team that emerged into college football is the Horned Frogs. They are all in this year with a squad filled with Seniors. QB Max Duggan is a Heisman finalist and has led TCU to 5 one possession wins on the season along with 4 wins against ranked teams. That did catch up to them in the Big 12 Championship game as they lost in OT to #10 Kansas State. Nonetheless, they have shown that they can win games and that is all that matters at this point in the season. TCU was ultimately kept at #3 despite the loss to avoid the Michigan/Ohio State rematch in a game that was just played two weeks ago.
Season Grade: B+

#4 Ohio State (11-1, 8-1 Big 10)
The most disappointing team this season in college football was the Buckeyes. Coming in the year as heavy favorites, they seemed to show signs of weakness every week as we got deeper into the year. Although they took care of business and won games, they looked very sloppy while doing so. This would coming back to bite them as they would lose a crucial game at home to then-ranked #3 Michigan and it wasn’t pretty. The last few weeks of the season put a toll on the Buckeyes, who will now not have star WR  Jaxon Smith-Njigba as he plans on sitting out of the playoffs and preparing for the NFL Draft.
Season Grade: B-

#5 Alabama (10-2, 6-2 SEC)
For a team that is always winning, this is disappointing for a Crimson Tide team as they miss out on the Playoff for only the second time since the format started. Both losses would come on the road on final plays of the game against Tennessee and LSU. Should they have won both games? Yes. But from another perspective, they also should have lost more than two games. Ultimately, what kept Alabama out of the Playoff was the second column of their record. There has yet to be a two-loss team that could make it into the Top 4, and they were probably the best candidate yet.
Season Grade: C+