College Football Rankings 2014: Twitter Reacts to AP and Amway Week 12 Polls

Another week, another wash of potential playoff teams falling by the wayside. Auburn's upset loss to Texas A&M coupled with six high-profile matchups between Top 25 teams has provided some clarity with the college football season winding down.    

After two wins against lesser opponents, Mississippi State and Florida State continue to be the mainstays atop the Associated Press and Amway Coaches polls. Moving up into the near-lock status for a Top Four berth are Oregon and Alabama, which each earned noteworthy road victories against Utah and LSU, respectively.

With No. 5 TCU inching its way into the conversation, there is a pretty clear hierarchy atop the polls. Here is a look at how both Top 25s played out, along with Bleacher Report's official Top 25:

The biggest change is near the top, with Auburn dropping to No. 9 after its 41-38 loss to Texas A&M. The Tigers battled back from a 35-17 halftime deficit, but lost fumbles on their final two drives thwarted the comeback effort. Nick Marshall coughed the ball up on a goal-line rush attempt from the Aggies 2-yard line, and then a botched snap deep inside Texas A&M territory wrapped it up.

"It hurts. It hurts our team," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn told reporters. "We had goals and dreams and we didn't get it done."  

ESPN's Mike Greenberg weighed in on the loss:

True freshman Kyle Allen threw for 277 yards and four touchdowns in the best start of his young career. The Aggies, who were the sixth-ranked team in the country before opening their SEC schedule with three straight losses, are still on the outside looking in. They close the regular season with home games against Missouri and LSU.

ESPN fantasy expert Matthew Berry, whose mother is the mayor of College Station, sent out his congratulations:

Speaking of Les Miles' team, it came within a possession of ending Alabama's national title hopes. The Crimson Tide needed a furious 50-second drive to set up a 27-yard Adam Griffith field goal to force overtime, where Blake Sims found DeAndrew White from six yards out to keep Alabama at one loss. Sims completed 20 of 45 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns in a game that felt like an old-school SEC matchup.

"He didn't have one of his better games. It was tough," Alabama coach Nick Saban told reporters of his quarterback. "He hung in there. He made some great plays when he had to...I'm really, really proud of way he hung in there."

ESPN Stats & Info provided numbers on the dichotomy between Sims' performance early versus down the stretch:

The coaches' decision to keep Alabama above Oregon has been a little controversial given the Ducks' emphatic win over Utah. Marcus Mariota threw for 239 yards, added 114 on the ground and scored four total touchdowns, including two in a 24-point fourth quarter. Mariota and Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott have emerged as the two clear front-runners for the Heisman Trophy.

Bryan Fischer of NFL.com noted how impressive Mariota's numbers have been given the injuries elsewhere on the team:

Oregon closes its regular season with relative gimmes against Colorado and Oregon State, which should put the Ducks 11-1 heading into the Pac-12 Championship Game.

Their likely opponent in that contest, Arizona State, moved closer to making the Pac-12 title game a quasi-playoff contest Saturday. The Sun Devils got their biggest win of the season in a 55-31 rout of Notre Dame, which was mostly caused by five Irish turnovers. Everett Golson threw four interceptions and the Irish managed only 41 rushing yards to send their playoff chances packing.

On the other side, Taylor Kelly had three touchdowns and 224 yards passing while D.J. Foster added 120 yards on the ground. Arizona State led by as many as 31 points and staved off a Notre Dame comeback attempt to score the game's final three touchdowns. Only rival Arizona on Nov. 28 should come between the Sun Devils and a potential showdown with Oregon.

"Getting a win on a national stage like that is big for this program," Kelly told reporters.

ESPN Stats & Info provided a, well, not great stat for Irish fans:

Also proving their worth to the selection committee were Ohio State and Baylor, which each came into Saturday with their share of skeptics. Freshman J.T. Barrett accounted for five touchdowns and Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 154 yards, as the Buckeyes earned their biggest win of the season against Michigan State.

Ohio State has won seven straight games since its frustrating loss to Virginia Tech and has the inside track at a Big Ten title. Urban Meyer's team does not have a game remaining against a ranked opponent until a potential conference championship showdown. Perhaps the most noteworthy game remaining for the Buckeyes is against rival Michigan.

Paul Myerberg of USA Today has already turned in his prediction:

Baylor, which it should be noted defeated TCU this season, shouldn't have many doubters left following its 48-14 thrashing of Oklahoma. The Bears scored the game's final 45 points after going down 14-3 in the first quarter. Corey Coleman caught 15 Bryce Petty passes for 224 yards and a touchdown, also adding another score on the ground.

"There was something about this game," Petty told reporters. "This game, for me, was circled, dotted, starred, whatever you want to call it on the calendar. I don't like to make that public because every game's a big game, but I really wanted to win this game."

ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit called Oklahoma's loss "embarrassing":

Stewart Mandel of Fox Sports notes Baylor's impressive win should help close the gap between the Bears and Horned Frogs:

While the Big 12 is still left to be decided, Saturday provided some much-needed clarity for the playoff picture. There are only 10 Power Five teams with zero or one loss, and with many of them playing one another down the stretch, the situation may suss itself out and leave an obvious final four.

For now, the debate rages on.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter