College Football Playoff Rankings: Biggest Takeaways from Week 13

Yawn.

Is it Tuesday yet? What tortured logic will the selection committee come up with this week to go with "game control" and "eye test"? Will the new monarchy of college football keep last week's top four intact or shuffle things around after decreeing a new metric?

At this point, it's anybody's guess. Saturday provided no shakeup at the top of the rankings since none of the top seven teams lost. There were scant three games involving teams both ranked by the committee, and the only real upset of the day was Arkansas' rout of No. 8 Ole Miss, which had its flickering playoff hopes extinguished.

So we're left with reading the tea leaves on what the committee might be thinking based on how the teams performed this week: Did they control the games against cupcakes? Did their resumes become more or less impressive because of what a team they played two months ago did? Or did they have an awesome week of practice? 

Team	Remaining Schedule
1. Alabama	vs. Auburn, SEC Championship*
2. Oregon	at Oregon State, Pac-12 Championship
3. Florida State	vs. Florida, ACC Championship
4. Mississippi State	at Ole Miss, SEC Championship*
5. TCU	at Texas, vs. Iowa State
6. Ohio State	vs. Michigan, Big Ten Championship
7. Baylor	vs. Texas Tech, vs. Kansas State
9. UCLA	vs. Stanford, Pac-12 Championship*

Here's an outlook for each playoff contender:

1. Alabama

The Tide didn't exercise complete control in a 48-14 win over Western Carolina, but that should not jeopardize their top ranking. Alabama's only loss looks a bit worse this week, though, as Ole Miss was blanked by SEC West bottom-feeder Arkansas, 30-0.

2. Oregon 

The Ducks looked as good as anybody this week, pasting Colorado 44-10 and keeping Marcus Mariota comfortably in front of the Heisman race. Oregon's only loss also now looks better than Alabama's as Arizona moved to 9-2 with an emphatic win over ranked Utah.

3. Florida State

This is what FSU does: rally in the second half and win it in the end. The Seminoles did it this time to Boston College, 20-17, and remain the only undefeated team from a power-five conference. They might slide again, but as long as they win out, they'll be in the playoff.

4. Mississippi State

The Bulldogs bounced back nicely after losing to Alabama last week and demolished Vanderbilt, 51-0, to stay in the playoff hunt. They need an Auburn upset win in the Iron Bowl and a victory of their own in the Egg Bowl to take the SEC West. Otherwise, MSU likely will cede the playoff spot to a one-loss conference champion.

5. TCU

The Horned Frogs were the only Top 10 team to have the week off, but they got a huge helping hand from Minnesota, which they defeated handily, 30-7, earlier in the season. The Gophers are one win away from winning the Big Ten West, and their performance for now is keeping TCU ahead of Baylor.

6. Ohio State

The Buckeyes worked deep into the game before finally putting away Indiana, 42-27. Nothing that happened this week improved Ohio State's resume enough to vault it past TCU, so it'll probably stay put, just barely ahead of Baylor.

7. Baylor

Every game Baylor wins impressively, it closes the gap on TCU and potentially brings its head-to-head victory into play in the final analysis. The Bears labored to get past Oklahoma State, 49-28, but Kansas State's win at West Virginia is helping to assure them a shot at playing into the playoff field with a win over the Wildcats in the regular-season finale.

9. UCLA

The Bruins might be the only two-loss team with a chance to crash the playoff field. After their emphatic 38-20 victory over USC, they need a win over Stanford for a berth into the Pac-12 title game. UCLA will get a good hard look from the committee if it can upset Oregon in that game to win the conference championship.

Group-of-Five Teams in the Best Position

Marshall survived its first close game of the season, stuffing UAB on a fourth-down attempt 10 yards from the end zone in the final minute to preserve a 23-18 victory. If the Herd win their next two games to go 13-0, that might be enough to secure the group-of-five spot in the New Year's Six bowl lineup.

Colorado State cruised to another win but its path remains blocked by Boise State, as each team just has a game left in the regular season. If the two-loss Broncos beat Utah State next week, they will win the MWC Mountain Division and get in position to steal the bid if Marshall falters.

Projected Conference Championship Matchups

ACC: Florida State* vs. Georgia Tech*

Big Ten: Ohio State* vs. Wisconsin

Pac-12: Oregon* vs. UCLA

SEC: Alabama vs. Georgia

*clinched berth

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