TCU moves up one and Southern California climbs two spots to join Georgia and Michigan in the top four of the USA TODAY Sports NCAA Re-Rank 1-131 heading into the final weekend of the 2022 regular season.
This uncontroversial grouping is followed by No. 5 Ohio State, which drops just three spots after being handed a second ugly loss in a row to the rival Wolverines.
As the only other one-loss team in the Bowl Subdivision, the Buckeyes faced no real challenge for the seat just outside the top four. That sets up the possibility that OSU will be ready to bounce back into this group should USC lose to Utah for the second time this season, this time in the Pac-12 championship game.
A wacky rivalry weekend was highlighted by Michigan’swin and upsets by Oregon State and South Carolina. The Beavers are up 11 to No. 15, one ahead of Oregon. After getting past Clemson one week after knocking off Tennessee, the Gamecocks rise to No. 20 after completing an 8-4 regular season.
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Clemson’s surprising loss drops the Tigers six spots to No. 11. Up next is No. 12 LSU, which had a chance to secure 10 wins heading into the SEC championship game against Georgia but suffered a faceplant in a loss to Texas A&M.
With the regular season complete for all but a few teams, this is a good time to step back and assess the biggest surprises and disappointments in the Bowl Subdivision.
Those that exceeded preseason expectations include No. 14 Tulane, No. 26 South Alabama, No. 29 Illinois, No. 35 Duke, No. 37 Ohio, No. 46 James Madison, No. 58 Kansas, No. 72 Connecticut and No. 78 Georgia Southern.
The long list of teams that came up short in 2022 includes No. 47 Arkansas, No. 50 Oklahoma State, No. 62 Oklahoma, No. 63 Wisconsin, No. 70 Houston, No. 85 Michigan State, No. 88 Texas A&M, No. 94 Miami (Fla.) and No. 96 Nebraska.