College Football Playoff Rankings: Biggest Takeaways from Week 10

In college football, history repeats itself.

For the second straight week, we had a high-profile game (Michigan State at Nebraska) end on a major officiating controversy, and for the fourth straight week, we had a high-profile game (Arkansas at Ole Miss) end in a way we have rarely seen.

But that was only the tip of the iceberg on "Separation Saturday," when four unbeaten teams tasted defeat for the first time this year. Those losses and other results will have an effect on the College Football Playoff rankings, the second edition of which will come out Tuesday.

Here's a quick look at what we learned.

Michigan State and LSU Lose Ugly

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

Four teams dropped from the ranks of the unbeaten on Saturday, and we'll get to all four in due time.

For now, let's focus on Michigan State and LSU.

The Spartans melted down at Nebraska, coughing up a 12-point lead in the final two minutes before losing on a controversial no-call. The Huskers are one of the best six-loss teams in college football, but they're still a six-loss team one week removed from losing to Purdue. Any way you swing it, this was not a quality loss.

The same could be said for the Tigers, who despite losing to a quality opponent did not take a quality loss. Alabama outgained LSU by more than 250 yards, held Leonard Fournette to 31 yards on 19 carries and looked roughly 10 clicks out of the Tigers' league.

With Ole Miss losing to Arkansas, Alabama assumed control of the SEC West. That's one one-loss team that will outrank both LSU and Michigan State. The same goes for Stanford and Notre Dame—the latter of which I called Saturday's biggest winner—who will play each other in a de facto playoff quarterfinal at the end of November.

The Tigers and Spartans did not play themselves out of the CFP picture (see: Ohio State's loss to Virginia Tech last year). They did, however, play themselves out of the top tier. They entered the week in control of their own seasons.

Now they not only need help; they need a lot of help.

Oklahoma State Replaces TCU in Playoff Picture

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

Oklahoma State made an Oklahoma Statement, beating TCU 49-29 to hand the Horned Frogs their first loss since last October.

The Cowboys intercepted Trevone Boykin four times, riding that and five Mason Rudolph passing touchdowns to a lopsided win in Stillwater.

Prior to Saturday's statement, the best team Oklahoma State had beaten was...West Virginia? Texas Tech? Central Michigan? There's a reason it was No. 14 in the first playoff rankings—considerably lower than the other power-conference undefeateds.

But now? Suffice it to say the Cowboys proved their worth. TCU outgained them by more than 200 yards, 663-456, but those stats, as in many blowouts, are misleading. Oklahoma State defended the Horned Frogs better than any team all season.

"I want someone to look at the stats and tell me we had a bad game so that I can laugh it off," defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer told reporters. "For these guys, this was outstanding, and I'm so proud of them. It was a huge night. There were 110 gradeable snaps, so they probably played 120 when you take off penalties and such. Those guys are exhausted."

"

This play sums up the #okstate def tonight. #TCUvsOKST https://t.co/7WUWOL2jYq

— Jarrett W. Payton (@paytonsun) November 8, 2015"

Where does this leave the Big 12? Frankly, in a complicated spot.

Oklahoma State plays Baylor in two weeks, and the winner of that game will be the only Big 12 team with a chance to go undefeated. But the Cowboys play Oklahoma and the Bears play TCU the following weekend, so whoever wins will be in a prime spot to turn around and lose.

Baylor also plays the Sooners next week, so there's a chance it loses before playing Oklahoma State. These schedules are so back-loaded that it feels like the Big 12 season hasn't even begun.

Or at least that's how it felt before Saturday. The Cowboys beating the Horned Frogs was the first major domino to fall since Texas beat Oklahoma.

Now the conference knows what it needs to root for.

Like last year, it's unlikely to get a one-loss champion in the playoff.

The Clock Strikes Midnight on Memphis

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Memphis went out not with a bang but a whimper, losing 45-20 on its home field to Navy.

The Midshipmen rushed for 374 yards and made the Tigers look soft. It was the worst-case scenario for Justin Fuente's team, which was No. 13 in the first CFP rankings and earned so much positive buzz for starting 8-0 with a win over Ole Miss.

The new potential Cinderella is Houston. The team Memphis is slated to play next week—and might have looked past Navy for—survived a thriller against Cincinnati to emerge as the sole undefeated team in the AAC.

The Cougars own a pair of Power Five wins over Louisville, which just won its fifth of six games, and Vanderbilt, which just nearly upset Florida in The Swamp. Compare the Gators' 9-7 win over Vandy to Houston's 34-0 win over Vandy last weekend, and it doesn't take long to see the Cougars' road to the playoff.

But they don't have what it would take to crash the party, as Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer explained:

"

While Houston is still unbeaten and will have a place in the selection committee's Top 25 heading into Week 11, the Cougars just don't have the resume to approach the Top Four. That's not to say that interest is sucked out of these games; Memphis-Houston next weekend is hugely important, and there are still fantastic Group of Five developments to unfold. 

But the playoff? That madness will have to wait for another year.

"

So much for that Group of Five playoff sleeper.

Only the big boys will be invited.