College Football Rankings 2015: Week 9 Polls and Top 25 Standings Predictions

After a weekend that saw a few shake-ups at the top of the rankings, the College Football Playoff picture is becoming clearer. There are plenty of candidates for the CFP, but the Utah Utes and Florida State Seminoles played themselves out of the picture with their first losses of the season Saturday.  

Other teams, such as the Clemson Tigers, made their cases stronger than ever. Let's take a look at the newest Associated Press Top 25 and Amway Coaches Poll, which were released Sunday, and make a few Top 25 predictions as we move into the final third of the season:

Clemson Tigers Will Be the Best Heading into the Playoff

If you had any doubts over whether the undefeated Tigers were national title contenders prior to Saturday, they should be erased now.

The Miami Hurricanes are average, at best, this year at 4-3, but the Tigers handed them their worst loss in school history Saturday, per the Miami Herald's Susan Miller Degnan—58-0 on their home field. It was so bad that the Hurricanes announced Sunday they had fired head coach Al Golden, who had been with the program since 2011 and compiled a 32-25 record.

Before the team let him go, Golden summed up the Tigers' performance after the game, per ESPN:

"

Got beat from top to bottom. They outplayed us. They outcoached us. I just told the team it's completely my responsibility for not getting them ready to play. They just beat us soundly in every facet of the game, period.

"

Clemson outgained Miami at the line of scrimmage 567-146 and held the Hurricanes to just 1.8 yards per rush on 29 carries. Even more staggering, Clemson allowed just 2.9 yards per Miami pass attempt and grabbed three interceptions. The Tigers, on the other hand, ran all over the Hurricanes defense to the tune of 416 yards and six touchdowns.

As you can see above, AP voters were impressed with Clemson as well, moving the Tigers up from sixth to third after their dominating performance. Clemson even leapfrogged undefeated LSU and TCU. However, the voters in the coaches poll seemed less impressed, leaving the Tigers right where they were before their victory—at No. 6.

They did however, shift Alabama up one spot to No. 7 despite the one-loss Crimson Tide needing a touchdown in the final two minutes to knock off the 3-4 Tennessee Volunteers. Clemson is now 7-0, with the Miami blowout and a 24-22 victory over the 6-1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on its resume. 

Saturday's game may have been Clemson's best overall performance, but it wasn't the first impressive one. It was the fourth time the Tigers scored more than 40 points this year with quarterback Deshaun Watson leading the way. His seven interceptions are concerning, but he has thrown for 1,553 yards and 15 touchdowns.

His 332 rushing yards are second on the team, and he showed his versatility against Miami. The sophomore rushed and passed for a score while completing 15 of 19 passes for 143 yards despite sitting out for most of the second half.

The Tigers' only chance at a slip-up will be Nov. 7 against Florida State at home. Look for them to win that game, finish as ACC champions and be No. 1 heading into the playoff.

Seth Russell's Injury Will Cost Baylor the National Championship

When healthy, the Baylor Bears are not only the most explosive offensive team in the country but also perhaps the best. Their 45-27 victory Saturday over the Iowa State Cyclones was the closest they have come to losing this season.

Baylor leads the country with 61 points per game. Its passing offense ranks ninth, while its rushing offense slots in at No. 2. The defense, which ranks 55th while allowing 25.1 points per game, has been able to support the team's offense this year.

Yet the team has one major problem: It might be without quarterback Seth Russell for the rest of the season.

The junior suffered a scary neck injury against Iowa State, and his return date is unknown, according to Baylor's official Twitter account:

Russell has thrown for 2,104 yards and an FBS-leading 29 touchdowns this season. Freshman Jarrett Stidham replaced Russell after the injury and completed his only pass attempt. In limited playing time, usually when a Baylor victory has been in hand, Stidham is 24-of-28 for 331 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions on the year.

Those are impressive numbers, especially for a freshman, but he's not on Russell's level. Yes, Cardale Jones came in last year as a sophomore for his first true collegiate action to save Ohio State's championship season, but to expect that from a freshman is unrealistic.

However, Baylor head coach Art Briles thinks his young quarterback can handle the pressure, per ESPN.com's Jake Trotter.

"This is a tough deal for Seth," Briles said. "Stidham is the best young quarterback I've been around. He's very polished."

If Russell comes back soon, which seems unlikely, Baylor will be fine. If not, a championship won't happen. If Russell is out for the season, Stidham will have to win games at home against Oklahoma and on the road against Oklahoma State and TCU.

Briles may be confident, but if Baylor ends up winning the national title with Stidham, even Jones should be impressed.

LSU Will Play for the National Championship

It takes more than one player to make a good team, but when a team has someone like Leonard Fournette running the ball, it always has a fighting chance, as ESPN College Football showed:

The LSU Tigers are the team with that luxury. Fournette's 1,352 yards are 193 more than anyone else in the FBS, and his 7.7 yards per carry rank second in the SEC. He hasn't rushed for fewer than 150 yards in a game this season and has found paydirt in all seven contests.

Those are great numbers, but LSU is more than Fournette. The defense, ranking a modest 39th in the country while allowing 22.1 points per game, has stepped up when necessary. It has done enough to keep the Tigers in every game, and when struggling in a high-scoring affair against Florida on Oct. 17, LSU shut out the Gators for the final 16 minutes, four seconds of the game to claim a 35-28 victory.

Quarterback Brandon Harris has been efficient, attempting all 128 passes for the Tigers, with nine touchdowns and zero interceptions. An offense that can hand the ball off to Fournette 25 times per game and never throw an interception is going to be hard to beat.

Fox Sports' Stewart Mandel noted LSU moved into the Fox Four this week after Utah's loss:

According to Fox's rankings, however, the Tigers should lose to Ohio State in the semifinals. Don't count on that.

The Tigers look as talented and tough as anyone else and will be playing on the season's final day, most likely against some other Tigers that will be out to prove they are legitimate contenders.