Fox Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt disagrees with the order of the final College Football Playoff rankings.
Klatt closely covers the Big Ten and Big 12. He has been ranking the top college football teams all season.
The key results from last week that affected the final CFP rankings were Alabama’s 41-24 SEC championship win over Georgia, Michigan’s dominant 42-3 Big Ten championship win over Iowa and Cincinnati’s 35-20 AAC championship win over Houston.
Here’s how Klatt ranks his top six teams:
No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
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Klatt ranks Notre Dame lower in his final CFP rankings. Klatt has Ohio State as his last team outside of the CFP. Ohio State had one more loss than Notre Dame, but played a more challenging schedule than the Fighting Irish.
No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes
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Ohio State lost its final regular-season game to Michigan, but the Buckeyes were rolling before playing the Wolverines. Ohio State’s defense struggled in their final game, but Klatt thinks they belong just outside the CFP.
No. 4 Cincinnati Bearcats
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Klatt and the CFP committee agree on Cincinnati. Both have the Bearcats ranked fourth after an undefeated regular season.
No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs
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Once again, Klatt agrees with where Georgia should be ranked. The Bulldogs lost in the SEC championship, but played a difficult schedule. Klatt has Georgia playing Alabama again instead of facing Michigan in the CFP semifinals.
No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide
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Joel Klatt would have an SEC championship rematch in the CFP semifinals. Klatt is more impressed with Michigan’s body of work, which featured a huge win over Ohio State than Alabama’s resume. Alabama had several close games it could’ve lost in 2021, but the SEC championship was not one of them.
No. 1 Michigan Wolverines
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Joel Klatt ranks Michigan as his top team. Michigan has impressive wins over Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Penn State. Klatt would have the Wolverines playing Cincinnati in the CFP semifinal instead of Georgia.
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