College Football Rankings 2015: Week 14 Polls and Top 25 Standings Predictions

Following a thrilling final week of the 2015 college football regular season, the playoff selection committee seems to have an easy task once again of determining the top four teams. 

Last week, the first four teams in the College Football Playoff rankings were Clemson, Alabama, Oklahoma and Iowa. All four teams won again this week and enter championship weekend with momentum in their corner. 

Oklahoma is the only team with what should be a secure spot, because the Sooners are done playing. They won the Big 12 with an impressive 58-23 win over Oklahoma State and can sit back while Clemson, Alabama and Iowa face one more hurdle before the final CFP standings are released on Dec. 6.

Week 14 Polls

Looking at the updated Associated Press Top 25 and coaches poll for Week 14, they reflect what the selection committee was thinking last week.

Predicted CFP Top 25

Richard Shiro/Associated Press

If there is going to be a debate among the top four teams by the selection committee, it may start right at the top. 

Even though Clemson maintained its perfect record heading into next week's ACC Championship Game against North Carolina, the Tigers did not look impressive against South Carolina. DeShaun Watson was terrific with 393 yards of total offense and four total touchdowns (three rushing), but the rest of the team looked off in a 37-32 victory over a 3-9 team. 

Granted, No. 2 Alabama didn't exactly roll over Auburn in a 29-13 victory, but the Tigers can at least claim to be a bowl team at 6-6.

However, as noted by Clay Travis of FoxSports,com, Clemson's current resume is strong, even with Saturday's close win:

"

Clemson has very good wins against top ten caliber teams in Notre Dame and Florida State, and beat Louisville, Miami, and N.C. State, three additional teams with winning records. Put together, that is two top wins and five teams with winning records. Clemson's schedule is demonstrably tougher and better than North Carolina's and Ohio State's.  

"

By comparison, Alabama currently has one win over a team ranked in the CFP Top 25 last week (Mississippi State). The Crimson Tide will get an opportunity for another solid win against Florida in the SEC Championship Game, though the Gators' 27-2 loss to Florida State did lower their stock. 

Using Alabama's soft resume, Oklahoma has a shot at moving into the No. 2 spot. The Sooners' loss to Texas is a distant memory, as they have knocked off the second-, third- and fourth-place teams in the Big 12 in the last three weeks. 

TCU was playing without Trevone Boykin against Oklahoma, so that is a huge caveat, but one the committee didn't seem to mind after elevating the Sooners from seventh to third last week. 

Rank	Team
1	Clemson Tigers
2	Alabama Crimson Tide
3	Oklahoma Sooners
4	Iowa Hawkeyes
5	Michigan State Spartans
6	Stanford Cardinal
7	Ohio State Buckeyes
8	North Carolina Tar Heels
9	Florida State Seminoles
10	Notre Dame Fighting Irish
11	Northwestern Wildcats
12	TCU Horned Frogs
13	Baylor Bears
14	Oregon Ducks
15	Oklahoma State Cowboys
16	Michigan Wolverines
17	Florida Gators
18	Mississippi Rebels
19	Temple Owls
20	Navy Midshipmen
21	USC Trojans
22	Utah Utes
23	LSU Tigers
24	Wisconsin Badgers
25	Houston Cougars

Looking at the predicted standings, the two biggest games next week are the ACC championship showdown between Clemson and North Carolina and the Big Ten championship clash between Iowa and Michigan State. 

The Tar Heels might be the quietest one-loss team in the nation, largely because the team was dismissed after a season-opening 17-13 loss against South Carolina. Daniel Uthman of USA Today did create a scenario in which North Carolina finds its way into the top four:

"

Beat Clemson in the ACC championship, have Alabama lose the SEC championship and Stanford lose the Pac-12 championship. Even then, the committee might take Ohio State as a second Big Ten team rather than the Tar Heels. But that could set a precedent against conference championships that the committee might not want to make.

"

There are two problems for North Carolina that may be too great for the committee to overlook. First, its loss to South Carolina looks even worse considering the Gamecocks lost to The Citadel. Second, the Tar Heels only have nine wins against FBS opponents (North Carolina A&T and Delaware are FCS programs).

As a result, a Clemson loss could open the door for Ohio State or, more likely, a two-loss Stanford team if the Cardinal beat USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game. 

The Big Ten championship is THE game of the weekend. Iowa, while ranked among the top four, is still looking to be taken seriously. The Hawkeyes are currently 3.5-point underdogs to Michigan State, per OddsShark.com. 

Assuming the Spartans stay at No. 5 in the rankings, or even if they move ahead of Iowa for some reason this week, it's clear the winner will be one of the four teams in. 

There are no other spoilers among the four playoff teams, with North Carolina being the only potential conference champion outside the projected top five likely to slide in with a win. USC isn't a factor to climb that high; ditto Florida. 

It may not provide the same drama as last year's Baylor-TCU-Ohio State triangle, but the selection committee will have a lot of questions to answer if either Clemson or Alabama loses.

Knowing the way college football works, especially late in the season, it seems like a safe bet that at least one of those things will happen.