NCAA Football Rankings 2014: Top 25 College Playoff Standings for Week 11

Tuesday's announcement by the College Football Playoff voting committee of the Week 11 rankings has fans of the sport debating which teams deserve the honor of participating in the first-ever bracket-style postseason format.

Mississippi State and Florida State were clear choices as No. 1 and No. 2 overall due to their unblemished records, and Auburn's victory over Ole Miss in Week 10 helped ensure the Tigers also stayed in the Top Four.

While most fans can agree on the Top Three, the final Playoff spot has sparked a major debate.

Here are the Week 11 College Football Playoff, Associated Press, Amway Coaches and Bleacher Report Top 25 polls and a breakdown of the most surprising team in postseason contention.

Rank	College Football Playoff	Associated Press	Amway Coaches	Bleacher Report
1	Mississippi State	Mississippi State	Mississippi State	Mississippi State
2	Florida State	Florida State	Florida State	Florida State
3	Auburn	Auburn	Auburn	Auburn
4	Oregon	Alabama	Alabama	Oregon
5	Alabama	Oregon	Oregon	Alabama
6	TCU	TCU	Michigan State	Michigan State
7	Kansas State	Michigan State	TCU	Notre Dame
8	Michigan State	Notre Dame	Notre Dame	TCU
9	Arizona State	Kansas State	Kansas State	Kansas State
10	Notre Dame	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor
11	Ole Miss	Arizona State	Ohio State	Ole Miss
12	Baylor	Ole Miss	Arizona State	Arizona State
13	Nebraska	Ohio State	Ole Miss	Ohio State
14	Ohio State	LSU	Nebraska	Nebraska
15	Oklahoma	Nebraska	LSU	LSU
16	LSU	Oklahoma	Oklahoma	Oklahoma
17	Utah	Georgia	Georgia	Georgia
18	UCLA	UCLA	UCLA	UCLA
19	Arizona	Clemson	Clemson	Clemson
20	Georgia	Utah	Duke	Duke
21	Clemson	Arizona	Arizona	Utah
22	Duke	Duke	Utah	Arizona
23	West Virginia	Marshall	Marshall	Marshall
24	Georgia Tech	West Virginia	Wisconsin	West Virginia
25	Wisconsin	Wisconsin	West Virginia	Colorado State

Most Surprising Top Four Team

Most college football fans understood that the top three spots would be occupied by Mississippi State, Florida State and Auburn, but the debate raged on about which program would be seeded fourth overall.

According to the selection committee, Oregon deserves the honor more than Alabama right now.

A loss earlier in the season to Arizona was a devastating blow for the Ducks, but the program has bounced back for four straight victories. Oregon's resume also boasts wins over elite teams such as Michigan State, UCLA and Stanford.

When asked about why Oregon made the Top Four over a team like Alabama, selection committee chairman Jeff Long told The Associated Press, via ESPN, "It was very close, and I think it's the product of Oregon's other wins they have. They have the Michigan State win, but they also, again, went on the road against UCLA and won, and a couple of wins that made their body of work, put them a step ahead of (Alabama) at this point."

The Ducks square off with the Utah Utes in Week 11. If Oregon can walk out of the matchup with a win, the program will not face another ranked team for the remainder of the season and should be able to run the table.

With only one loss, it will be hard to keep the Ducks out of the Playoff.

As ESPN Stats & Info's Twitter account pointed out, the Ducks have a very realistic opportunity to win the Pac-12:

While there was concern about how the College Football Playoff committee would vote each week, ESPN's Joe Schad acknowledges the way the polls are being handled:

There is no doubt that Alabama deserves heavy consideration for the final spot in the Playoff, but the team's upcoming schedule is brutal. With matchups against LSU, Mississippi State and Auburn (plus a possible SEC Championship Game), the decision to keep the team on the outside of the Top Four is fair for right now.

If the Crimson Tide win all of their remaining games and finish the season with one loss, there is no doubt the program would leapfrog any other one-loss team. Oregon should make the Playoff if the team stays unblemished for the remainder of the year, but the top teams in the SEC have the potential to drastically change what the rankings look like over the final weeks of the season.

The Ducks control their own fate, though. Led by Heisman Trophy candidate and junior quarterback Marcus Mariota, winning each of the remaining games in the regular season and taking home the Pac-12 Championship will force the College Football Playoff committee to keep the team in the Top Four.

While it was surprising to see Oregon jump Alabama in the standings, the team deserves the honor and must now withstand the pressure of remaining in playoff contention for the rest of the season.

Stats via ESPN.com.

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