AP College Football Poll 2015: Latest Rankings, Key Week 12 Game Projections

The top three teams in the Week 11 Associated Press Top 25 poll held steady in the newly released Week 12 rankings, but that was where the stability ended.

Four teams in the Top 10 lost, and and three teams moved into the Top 10 after a wild weekend of upsets.

Here is a look at the latest Top 25 poll and some predictions for a few key games in Week 12:

There are two matchups between Top 10 teams and another between two Top 11 teams. Here are predictions for those games and what they mean for the College Football Playoff.

No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 9 Michigan State Spartans

Ohio State was the unanimous Top 25 No. 1 team in the preseason and has yet to lose. However, a weak schedule that includes no games against current Top 25 teams allowed the Clemson Tigers to claim the No. 1 spot.

It can't be said over the next two weeks that the Buckeyes haven't played a worthy opponent. It starts in Week 12 with a matchup against the 9-1 Michigan State Spartans. The Buckeyes then head on the road in Week 13 to play the No. 14 Michigan Wolverines.

It will be on the day's biggest stage, per ESPN College Football:

Michigan State is 13th in the CFP rankings and will certainly help OSU improve on its 105th-ranked strength of schedule, per RealTimeRPI.com. The Spartans have wins over two ranked teams in the Oregon Ducks and Michigan Wolverines, and their one loss came at the hands of a freak play in the final seconds against the Nebraska Cornhuskers—perhaps karma, though, for their insane victory against Michigan.

However, it will take a win, and not just playing a good team, to keep Ohio State in the CFP rankings. The Buckeyes have been ranked in both CFP polls and were No. 3 in the latest rankings.

The Spartans are in the middle of the pack in terms of team defense in the Big Ten Conference, but their offense is what the Buckeyes should be worried about. They are ranked third in the conference in passing offense, but Ohio State counters with the third-ranked passing defense.

Ohio State has struggled against competition much lower than the Spartans, pulling out one-possession victories against the unranked Northern Illinois Huskies and Indiana Hoosiers. Michigan State blew out the Hooisers, 52-26.

The Buckeyes are too good to be blown out, but with the Spartans being their first real competition, they will have a hard time putting together a full game.

The Buckeyes have won 12 in a row at home, but all streaks are snapped at some point, and Michigan State will accomplish the feat in Week 12.

Michigan State wins, 34-30.

No. 4 Oklahoma State vs. No. 10 Baylor Bears

The Oklahoma State Cowboys are undefeated and steadily moving up in the rankings. Yet, while much has been made about the Buckeyes' weak schedule, the Cowboys have played an even easier one.

Oklahoma State has played the 119th-worst schedule, according to RealTimeRPI.com, which ranks 14 spots below Ohio State's.

The Cowboys do have a 20-point win over the No. 11 TCU Horned Frogs, and while they are only the fifth-highest scoring offense in the Big 12 Conference, they still put up 43.6 points per game.

Baylor leads the conference in scoring at 54.8, but it has struggled since losing one of the nation's top quarterbacks in Seth Russell to a season-ending neck injury in Week 8. The Bears have scored 30-plus points in two games since, but they beat the Kansas State Wildcats by just seven and were exposed by the No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners in Week 11, losing 44-34.

Baylor is allowing Big 12 opponents to score more than 29 points per game, and the Cowboys' two-headed quarterback monster of Mason Rudolph and J.W. Walsh should help them surpass that mark.

Rudolph's 3,161 passing yards are 11th in the country, and Walsh has run for 10 touchdowns. He also threw the game-winning score in Week 11 against the Iowa State Cyclones.

ESPN's Jake Trotter was impressed with Walsh's performance as a backup:

Baylor was a title contender with Russell behind center, and while freshman Jarrett Stidham—who was injured against the Sooners—has stepped in and played well, it's not enough to save a shaky defense.

A win for the Cowboys, depending on what others do in Week 12, could move them into the CFP rankings.

Oklahoma State wins, 48-31.

No. 7 Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 11 TCU Horned Frogs

The Big 12 overall has a back-loaded schedule, as another nearly Top 10 matchup looms between the Sooners and Horned Frogs.

TCU is struggling with injuries to stars Trevone Boykin and Josh Doctson. The quarterback and wide receiver have combined for 51 total touchdowns and did not play much in a 23-17 victory against the lowly Kansas Jayhawks in Week 11.

Boykin sprained his ankle in the first quarter against Kansas and did not return. TCU head coach Gary Patterson said he thinks Boykin will play against the Sooners, per the Associated Press (via Dan Parr of NFL.com).

Doctson injured his arm in the loss to Oklahoma State and was thought to be out for the season, per the AP (via USA Today), but he ended up playing against Kansas. He had just one catch for 12 yards.

Even without their services, a six-point home victory against a winless Kansas team doesn't give much hope to TCU winning the Big 12 or qualifying for the CFP.

The Sooners, on the other hand, have a great shot at the playoff after defeating Baylor. It's amazing considering they laid an egg in a 24-17 home loss to the Texas Longhorns after starting the season 4-0.

They've won five straight since, and the 44 points at Baylor were the fewest the Sooners have scored during that stretch.

Considering the TCU defense has allowed 40-plus points three times this season and gave up 37 to a one-win SMU Mustangs team, this one could get ugly.

Sometimes, games don't live up to the billing (see TCU-Kansas), but the Sooners are rolling, at home and catching TCU at the right time. They should win this one easily.

Oklahoma wins, 52-30.