We have just two College Football Playoff rankings updates to go before we get the one that actually matters, on Dec. 4. This season’s going by way too quickly, right?
College Football Playoff rankings: How Week 12’s top 25 scores changed the picture
New Playoff rankings will arrive Tuesday night around 7:30 p.m. ET. Here’s how last weekend’s rankings played out.
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
Below, quick notes on each of the games from this past weekend involving top 25 teams.
Coming into the season, Week 12 didn’t look all that big on paper, but its schedule turned up a few surprises.
Few predicted Washington State-Colorado would be an all-ranked game with Pac-12 Championship implications, and the same goes for West Virginia making its game against Oklahoma an all-top-15 matchup. And absolutely nobody would’ve predicted the rescheduled Florida-LSU would’ve even been played this weekend.
And not too many huge outcomes happened this weekend ...
... other than Houston knocking off Louisville, Florida winning at LSU, and the whole Mountain West race bending in Western Michigan’s favor.
No. 1 Alabama 31 (11-0), Chattanooga 3 (FCS)
Whatever.
No. 2 Ohio State 17 (10-1), Michigan State 16 (3-8)
Still alive for the Playoff, but still need Penn State to lose in order to reach the Big Ten Championship. This win doesn’t help OSU at all, as it was a close one against a team with a poor record.
No. 3 Michigan 20 (10-1), Indiana 10 (5-6)
No real change. Indiana’s now below .500 and thus no longer a noteworthy W for Nebraska, Ohio State, or Penn State. If UM beats OSU, UM wins the Big Ten West. OSU needs Penn State to lose.
No. 4 Clemson 35 (10-1), Wake Forest 13 (6-5)
ACC Atlantic clinched. Two more wins equal the Playoff. Wake counts as a decent W.
Houston 36 (9-2), No. 5 Louisville 10 (9-2)
Well hey, look who’s ranked again! Won’t matter as far as the Cotton Bowl goes, though, since Navy clinched the division title. More importantly, Louisville loses hope of being the ACC’s second team into the Playoff.
No. 6 Washington 44 (10-1), Arizona State 18 (5-6)
Not much change, but the Apple Cup will now officially decide the Pac-12 North. ASU’s below .500 and no longer a quality W for Colorado, USC, Utah, or Washington State.
No. 7 Wisconsin 49 (9-2), Purdue 20 (3-8)
The Badgers can clinch the Big Ten West with a W against Minnesota or a Nebraska L against Iowa. No changes, though.
No. 8 Penn State 39 (9-2), Rutgers 0 (2-9)
One win over Michigan State and one Ohio State win over Michigan from reaching the Big Ten Championship. No changes this week, though.
No. 9 Oklahoma 56 (9-2), No. 14 West Virginia 28 (8-2)
Bedlam will decide the Big 12. OU finally adds a win over a ranked team.
No. 10 Colorado 38 (9-2), No. 22 Washington State 24 (8-3)
How CU can win the Pac-12 South: beat Utah next week. This will count as a decent W, though WSU will no longer be ranked.
No. 11 Oklahoma State 31 (9-2), TCU 6 (5-5)
Bedlam will decide the Big 12. This counts as a solid W.
Oregon 30 (4-7), No. 12 Utah 28 (8-3)
Weird! This is biggest for USC, which is now a Colorado loss to Utah from clinching the Pac-12 South.
No. 13 USC 36 (8-3), UCLA 14 (4-7)
Need Colorado to lose in order to win the division, but could move closer to New Year’s Six at-large consideration. This particular game won’t count toward much there, though.
No. 15 Auburn 55 (8-3), Alabama A&M 0 (FCS)
Next.
No. 23 Florida 16 (8-2), No. 16 LSU 10 (6-4)
The Gators are building a Sugar Bowl case and just clinched the SEC East.
No. 17 Florida State 45 (8-3), Syracuse 14 (4-7)
Not much matters here.
No. 18 Nebraska 28 (9-2), Maryland 7 (5-6)
Still need to win again and for Wisconsin to lose, in order to win the Big Ten West. Maryland no longer counts as a decent W for Michigan, Ohio State, or Penn State.
No. 19 Tennessee 63 (8-3), Missouri 37 (3-8)
Doesn’t mean much, though the Vols have a respectable Sugar Bowl case, thanks in large part to Virginia Tech.
No. 20 Boise State 42 (10-1), UNLV 25 (4-7)
No changes. Still need Wyoming to lose, in order to make the Mountain West Championship and thus be eligible for the Cotton Bowl’s mid-major autobid. If that happens, Boise’s the favorite.
No. 21 Western Michigan 38 (11-0), Buffalo 0 (2-9)
No changes. At this point, WMU has to hope the higher-ranked Boise State can’t get into or win the MWC Championship, or else WMU is unlikely to make the Cotton Bowl. Needs one more Wyoming win to keep Boise State out of the MWC Championship.
No. 24 Stanford 45 (8-3), Cal 31 (4-7)
Not much matters here as far as the postseason goes, so it’s all about rivalry stakes.
No. 25 Texas A&M 23 (8-3), UTSA 10 (5-6)
Doesn’t matter. Not exactly gonna cool anyone calling for Kevin Sumlin’s job, though.
Wyoming 34 (8-3), San Diego State 33 (9-2)
Bad for the Mountain West for two reasons: Boise State might be locked out of the MWC Championship after all and thus be ineligible for the Cotton, and SDSU has little chance of being ranked. Great for WMU.
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