College Football

2023 college football rankings: Joel Klatt's top 10 teams after Week 13

Published Nov. 28, 2023 12:06 p.m. ET

What a joy the final week of the 2023 college football regular season was.

Michigan's dramatic and thrilling win over Ohio State headlined an important Week 13 slate of games with exciting finishes. That was another fantastic edition of The Game, and it lived up to the hype. It was really well played. There were plays made on both sides and there were answers, which is what I love the most about sports. This game had constant answering and both of these teams played like the really good teams that they are. It really came down to three or four snaps, and it was as great of a big game I've seen played in a long time.

I broke down a lot of those moments in depth on the latest episode of my podcast, "The Joel Klatt Show." Now, let's focus on my top 10 teams after the weekend, which features a change at the top following the result of The Game.

1. Michigan Wolverines (Last week: 2)
Record: 12-0
Last week: Defeated Ohio State, 30-24

Sherrone Moore coached with the freedom of someone with no scar tissue in the history of The Game. He coached and made decisions with no scar tissue. It was evident. He went for it on fourth down three times, scoring touchdowns on each drive he did so. He's got the freedom of not having a long memory and of being the naive, youthful coach. That's not a shot, there's a lot of freedom to that! He told us and his team he was going to be aggressive, so credit to him.

The Zak Zinter injury ended up changing the whole outlook of the game. The starting right guard is the heart and soul of Michigan's offensive line and even the program, in some ways. When he went down, his teammates knew exactly what happened. The air left the building. It was quiet. There was a lot of emotion. There were Michigan players crying and Trevor Keegan even slammed his helmet on the ground.

Michigan beats Ohio State earning their third straight win in rivalry

Then, I saw something I've never seen before in calling games: The Big House started chanting "Let's go, Zak!" It was the whole stadium, and it was loud. I was blown away. And Michigan went from devastated to unified, with that crowd lifting it up as it went back on the field to resume the game. On the very next play, Blake Corum rushes for a 22-yard touchdown and flashes "6-5" for Zinter. It was a moment that could've gone the other direction, but the fans and that team made sure it didn't.

Following Saturday, I think Michigan is better suited to win this year than it was the last two years when it made the College Football Playoff. It obviously still has to beat Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game (Saturday, 8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) and it's favored to do so. But this is a better and more well-rounded team than the previous two Michigan teams, even if it doesn't have the pass rush that the 2021 team did or if it's not as dominant on the ground as it was last year.

This year's Michigan game has elements of everything. It can pass the ball, which you saw on Saturday as J.J. McCarthy completed big passes to Colston Loveland and Roman Wilson. The Wolverines can still run the football when they need to and want to, which we saw against Penn State and at times on Saturday. The defense can put pressure on the quarterback, which we saw in each of the last two weeks when their opponents started to find rhythm in the passing game. They've got guys who can make plays on the outside. They're terrific on special teams. Their coaching staff is legit and they can make aggressive decisions to give their team the best chance to win.

Michigan also has a togetherness this year that it might not have had at a similar level the last two years. It's been an interesting juxtaposition the past three years to see this Michigan team compared to the pre-COVID teams – they believe in one another. There's a love that's palpable within that program and they love Jim Harbaugh. They talk about each other with respect and focus on what's going right, not what's going wrong.

This seems like a culmination of that culture change.

2. Georgia Bulldogs (Last week: 1)
Record: 12-0
Last week: Defeated Georgia Tech, 31-23

I moved Georgia down a spot after it played a relatively sluggish game against Georgia Tech on Saturday.

3. Washington Huskies (Last week: 4)
Record: 12-0
Last week: Defeated Washington State, 24-21

It feels like Washington needs to win every game by fewer than 10 points. It continues to win by one possession. It has some holes and some really great players on its roster.

Kalen DeBoer's fourth-and-1 call from his own 29-yard-line with the game tied and only 1:11 left was so gutsy. That's putting your playoff hopes on the line and Michael Penix Jr. couldn't even watch the field-goal attempt at the buzzer. Unbelievable.

Now, there's a reason Washington is a nine-point underdog to Oregon, a team it already beat, on Saturday. Oregon is really good and physical, which could allow it to exploit those notable holes on Washington's roster. That's a play-in game for both teams.

Washington survives Washington State with a game-winning field goal

4. Oregon Ducks (Last week: 5)
Record: 11-1
Last week: Defeated Oregon State, 31-7

When I think about Oregon, I think this is a team that has potentially everything you need to win the national championship. I feel very confident in the Ducks.

This is a team that a lot of us think is really good. I think it's really good. The committee thinks it's very good. Heck, some of us might think Oregon's the second-best team in the country.

5. Texas Longhorns (Last week: 6)
Record: 11-1
Last week: Defeated Texas Tech, 57-7

Big props to the Longhorns on a resounding win over Texas Tech. I'm also giving Texas the benefit of the doubt as it went to Alabama and beat a good Crimson Tide team which was a top-five team at the time by double digits.

6. Ohio State Buckeyes (Last week: 3)
Record: 11-1
Last week: Lost to Michigan, 30-24

I think Ohio State still has a path to the College Football Playoff. It's very slim, but it's there, even after it lost a game that we thought might've been an elimination game.

Here's what I think needs to happen for Ohio State to make the playoff with its narrowing path: Alabama, Florida State and Texas all need to lose. So, root for Georgia, Louisville and Oklahoma State to win, Buckeyes fans. I think Ohio State would have a pretty good shot at making the playoff if that happened. Remember, winning on the road against a top-five team is pretty difficult. Top-five teams are 31-1 at home this season, and Ohio State only lost by six, so the committee could feel inclined to put the Buckeyes in with that being their lone loss and if those other things happen.

If only two of those three things happen, I don't think Ohio State can make it into the playoff.

No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 3 Michigan Wolverines Highlights

But what does this mean for Ryan Day? He's 56-7 overall, but he's now lost three times to Michigan. Three of the other losses were in the College Football Playoff. I get the frustrations from Ohio State fans, but man, Day is a freakin' good coach and a great human. He's got a great staff. All these guys on both Ohio State and Michigan's staffs are good coaches.

Unfortunately for Day, he's losing the wrong games for this fan base. He's won 89 percent of his games. He recruits at a high level. Yet, Ohio State hasn't lost The Game three times in a row since the early 1990s. This is not sitting well with them. You're just going to have to know and believe Day can fix it, Ohio State fans.

You can't change for change's sake. If you're going to change, you're going to have to change to be better. Who makes you better? You're already at the top of the sport in a lot of ways. You're within a breath of winning The Game on Saturday or winning the national championship last season. When the margins are that small, you don't throw it out and start over. That's crazy. Ohio State looked much better on Saturday than it did in The Game in 2021 and 2022. Day's going to get it done.

7. Alabama Crimson Tide (Last week: 7)
Record: 11-1
Last week: Defeated Auburn, 27-24

After Saturday's game, I don't think Alabama is in a play-in situation. That game is a bit of a black eye on its resume, even in a win, because of how it happened.

Alabama needed to score a touchdown on fourth-and-goal from the 31-yard-line with under 40 seconds left to beat an Auburn team that lost by 21 to New Mexico State on the same field a week earlier. In some fairness, Auburn has played well against some of the SEC's best at home this season (lost to Georgia and Ole Miss by seven). But it still isn't a great look for Alabama.

Alabama, Florida State escape close games & save playoff chances

Auburn ran one of the worst defenses you could possibly imagine on that fourth-and-goal play. It rushed two and had a spy – a spy for what? A 31-yard scramble when the rest of the defense is standing at the goal line? That was wild. Yet, Jalen Milroe still ended up throwing a prayer to win the game.

8. Florida State Seminoles (Last week: 8)
Record: 12-0
Last week: Defeated Florida, 24-15

That game was much closer than what the final score indicated. Florida State trailed 12-0 late in the first half and only had 224 yards of offense, being outgained in the process. And it was against a team that's not bowl-eligible.

I can't stand that Jordan Travis got injured, but without him, there's zero chance that Florida State is one of the four best teams in the country. I think Louisville will win on Saturday, but it just lost to Kentucky.

Even if Florida State beats Louisville, I think it'd be fair to say that it isn't one of the four best teams in the nation. That doesn't mean that it doesn't deserve to get into the playoff, but you know that old argument.

9. Penn State Nittany Lions (Last week: 10)
Record: 10-2
Last week: Defeated Michigan State, 42-0

Penn State came alive offensively against Michigan State this past weekend.

10. Ole Miss Rebels (Last week: Unranked)
Record: 10-2
Last week: Defeated Mississippi State, 17-7

Joel Klatt is FOX Sports' lead college football game analyst and the host of the podcast "The Joel Klatt Show." Follow him on Twitter at @joelklatt and subscribe to the "Joel Klatt Show" on YouTube.