College football power ratings: Which teams missed CFP but made expert's final Top 15?
SportsLine college football betting expert Thomas Casale ranks his top 15 teams at the conclusion of the regular season

Another college football season is coming to end. My final Top 15 betting based power rankings are below. They are pretty similar to the College Football Playoff rankings, with a couple of exceptions.
I break down the rankings by tiers so bettors can see where I cut off each group. I also move teams based on results, discuss changes in the betting market and set the hypothetical point spread from Tier 1 compared to the rest of the tiers.
Stop by the SportsLine college football Discord channel or hit me up on X at @TheTomCasale to let me know if you agree or disagree with the rankings. Thanks for following this season.
College football final power ratings
Tier 1
1. Ohio State Buckeyes
2. Indiana Hoosiers
3. Georgia Bulldogs
Ohio State remains ahead of Indiana by the slimmest of margins. Yes, the Hoosiers just won the head-to-head matchup in the Big Ten Championship. However, if the two teams meet again on a neutral field, I would still make the Buckeyes small favorites.
Georgia is at No. 3 but keep in mind all these teams are clustered together for a reason. If we had a matchup of any of the top three, the spread would be a point or two. Either way, I agree with the College Football Playoff committee that Ohio State, Indiana and Georgia should be the top seeds.
Tier 2 (+3 from Tier 1)
4. Texas A&M Aggies
5. Oregon Ducks
6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
7. Texas Tech Red Raiders
8. Alabama Crimson Tide
9. Ole Miss Rebels
10. Texas Longhorns
Tier 2 is where I disagree with the playoff seedings. I think Texas A&M is under-seeded at No. 7. I would make the Aggies slight favorites over Oregon and Ole Miss on a neutral field. It may not seem like a big deal but Texas A&M drew the tougher road at that spot because the Aggies would have to play Ohio State in the quarterfinals if they beat Miami.
The committee left Notre Dame out of the field. I'm not here to argue if that was the right decision. However, based on the betting market, Notre Dame is a top six or seven team. I make Texas A&M and Oregon -1 over the Irish on a neutral field. I would also make Notre Dame slight favorites over Texas Tech, Alabama and Ole Miss - three teams in the CFP.
For those wondering, the Irish would be right around 3-point favorites over Miami on neutral field right now and about a pick against Alabama. I agree the Tide haven't looked good of late but I would still make them small favorites over all the teams in Tier 3. The market agrees with that assessment because Alabama opened -1.5 over Oklahoma.
Let me first state that with our current process, I don't believe Texas should be in the field. Still, they are talented enough to make a title run. The Longhorns would be small favorites over both Miami and Oklahoma on a neutral field even with three losses.
Tier 3 (+5 from Tier 1)
11. Miami Hurricanes
12. Oklahoma Sooners
13. Vanderbilt Commodores
By my numbers, Oklahoma is the weakest Power 4 team in the playoff. I'm not saying the Sooners aren't worthy of a spot. I'm saying I would make the them slight underdogs against the other nine teams and Texas.
Miami was the last team in the playoff and the Hurricanes certainly have enough talent to make a run. However, I would make the Canes underdogs against any of the teams in Tier 2. Vanderbilt lost its two toughest games of the season so I understand why the Commodores aren't in the field. But it would have been fun to see Diego Pavia and the boys in the playoff.
Tier 4 (+13 from Tier 1)
14. BYU Cougars
15. Utah Utes
After Notre Dame, Texas and Vanderbilt, the two strongest teams not in the playoff from a betting perspective are BYU and Utah. Having said that, there is a big drop off after Tier 3.
By my numbers, Notre Dame, Texas and Vanderbilt are three of the best teams in the country. BYU and Utah aren't in that class. We saw that twice when BYU faced Texas Tech. The Red Raiders were double-digit favorites both times. Both BYU and Utah would be big underdogs against any of the teams in the first two tiers.















