Amway College Football Poll 2015: Complete Week 12 Rankings Revealed

The contenders continued to separate themselves from the pretenders in college football during Week 11. While some teams bolstered the resumes they'll present to the College Football Playoff committee, a few schools took a major step back Saturday. 

Let's take a look back at the biggest results from the weekend and how they affected this week's coaches and Bleacher Report polls. 

Analysis

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Last year, Baylor felt it was snubbed by the College Football Playoff committee. This year, the Bears had an excellent chance to put themselves in the Top Four if they simply finished undefeated and beat Oklahoma, TCU and Oklahoma State down the stretch.

They couldn't even get past Oklahoma. 

The Bears watched their playoff hopes all but disintegrate Saturday night, losing to the Sooners 44-34. While Baylor can still win the Big 12, the odds of the team reaching the playoff now seem incredibly low. 

Baylor's players weren't harping on the negatives after the game, however. 

“Everybody came out and supported us, and the berm was full, everything was full,” Baylor receiver Jay Lee said, per Jason Orts of the Waco Tribune-Herald. “We just had a couple minor hiccups that made us not win the game. We just have to go in tomorrow and look at the film and learn from it."

"Life isn't over, our season isn't over," nickelback Travon Blanchard added, per ESPN.

In fact, Baylor's season may now be defined by what it does against Oklahoma State. The Cowboys remained undefeated with a slim 35-31 victory over Iowa State on Saturday and now are the Big 12's best hope at landing a team in the Top Four. But Baylor and Oklahoma still loom, while a weak nonconference schedule may make it tough for the team to leapfrog Notre Dame or Iowa in the rankings. 

While the Fighting Irish continued to win by getting past Wake Forest and Iowa squeaked past Minnesota, a few other top teams weren't so lucky. LSU's loss a week ago to Alabama was compounded this Saturday, as the Tigers were upset by Arkansas, while Stanford's playoff hopes disappeared after a loss to resurgent Oregon, and Utah suffered its second loss against Arizona. 

But the week wasn't all disappointment for the various playoff contenders. Clemson and Ohio State remained undefeated with wins over Syracuse and Illinois, respectively, while Alabama continued to look like a steamroller with a convincing 31-6 win over Mississippi State. 

The Crimson Tide have hit their stride. Derrick Henry rushed for over 200 yards for the third time in four games, while Alabama's defense finished with nine sacks in the dominant display. As Paul Finebaum of ESPN noted, the Crimson Tide appear to be on a mission:

Barring an unlikely upset, Alabama will likely head into the SEC title game against Florida as a Top Four team. The Crimson Tide have dominated enough in recent play to control their own destiny at this point. The same can be said for both Clemson and Ohio State, though the Buckeyes' biggest tests are to come, as Michigan State and Michigan remain on the schedule, while Iowa could await in the Big Ten title game.

If Notre Dame wins its remaining games, meanwhile, it will have a great shot at reaching the playoff, though Oklahoma State or Oklahoma could sneak into the Top Four by winning out. A lot is left to be decided in college football, in other words. 

But the contenders always separate themselves from the pretenders.