AP College Football Poll 2015: Complete Week 12 Rankings Revealed

The four teams leading the way in the College Football Playoff are safe. Behind them, however, is a pile of rubble after a wild weekend that shook the landscape heading into the regular season's final stretch.

The Associated Press Top 25 offered a glimpse of what to expect from the committee Tuesday, with top-ranked Clemson staying ahead of the pack as the field begins to sort itself out. Ohio State remained second in the AP poll, followed by Alabama, Oklahoma State and Notre Dame.

While Clemson had a closer-than-expected encounter with Syracuse, the Buckeyes, Crimson Tide and Irish had no issues. Alabama thrashed Mississippi State with ease, Ohio State allowed 14 or fewer points for the fourth straight game in a win over Illinois and Notre Dame toppled Wake Forest by three touchdowns.

The Cowboys, on the other hand, had to come back from a 31-21 fourth-quarter deficit at Iowa State. They did just that to stay unbeaten.

Here is the AP's Top 25:

The most important change was Baylor, which descends to No. 10 after being ranked fourth in last week's poll. The homestanding Bears allowed Baker Mayfield to account for four touchdowns in Oklahoma's 44-34 victory, which may be enough to get the Sooners back in the playoff race. Samaje Perine added 166 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, continuing a return to form after an early-season slump.

While it put up 34 points, Baylor struggled to create big plays on the ground. Outside a 34-yard Shock Linwood run on their second play from scrimmage, the Bears had to settle for short gains against Oklahoma's front seven.

"We've been pretty good running the football this year, so you like to think that you can continue to do that," Baylor head coach Art Briles said, per Joshua Davis of the Baylor Lariat. "But we weren't very good tonight, and that certainly hurt us because it helps complement the pass. By not being able to run the ball, it allowed [Oklahoma] to do some things on the back end to stop everything."

ESPN Stats & Info noted how much the win helped the Sooners:

Also moving backward were Stanford and LSU, which each saw its chance at a late-season title push go up in flames. The Cardinal dug themselves a hole they couldn't climb out of against Oregon, failing to convert on a two-point conversion with 10 seconds remaining in a 38-36 home loss. It was a big blow for a team that had looked like the Pac-12's best playoff hope, and the loss may also wind up having an adverse affect on Notre Dame from a strength-of-schedule perspective.

The Tigers, meanwhile, dropped their second game in as many weeks with an ugly 31-14 setback against visiting Arkansas. Leonard Fournette's Heisman Trophy campaign is all but over after the sophomore star was held to just 91 yards and a touchdown. After rushing for at least 150 yards in each of LSU's first seven games, Fournette has just 122 over the last two weeks.

"I really have no words," he said, per Sheldon Mickles of the Advocate. "Sorry, I don't know what to say.

"I can't really explain it. I'm not frustrated with us. We lost. ... Everybody hates losing."

Perhaps the biggest game of the week was Oklahoma State's near-loss in Ames. The Cowboys trailed 24-7 in the second quarter and by 10 in the fourth before responding to each situation with two straight touchdowns. J.W. Walsh hit Jeff Carr for a seven-yard touchdown with 3:06 remaining, and the Oklahoma State defense held on against a stellar Cyclones rushing attack.

Overall, Stanford, LSU and Utah recorded the biggest drops in the rankings by each going down eight spots. UCLA fell from No. 18 last week to unranked this week after a last-second home loss to Washington State. Oklahoma, North Carolina and Michigan State made the biggest leaps by moving up five spots apiece.

No. 22 USC, No. 23 Oregon, No. 24 Washington State and No. 25 Ole Miss marked the new entries in the poll. They replaced UCLA, Mississippi State, Temple and Memphis, which each dropped out following a loss.

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