College Football Rankings 2015: Reviewing AP, Amway Polls and Week 13 Standings

Michigan State's 17-14 win over Ohio State on Saturday did the most to shake up the latest AP and Amway Coaches polls, which now essentially serve as teasers for the College Football Playoff rankings released on Tuesday.

The Buckeyes sank six spots in the Amway poll and dropped from second to 10th in the Associated Press standings. This opened the door for undefeated but underappreciated Iowa—which started the season unranked—to jump up a few spots into the top four in both polls. Notre Dame also claims top-four status on both lists.

Deshaun Watson and the Clemson Tigers held steady at No. 1 in the Amway and AP rankings. They've got a Carolina two-step coming up, with South Carolina on Nov. 28 and then North Carolina in the ACC championship.

UNC stumbled a bit in a 30-27 overtime win over Virginia Tech on Saturday but is still very much a dangerous team.

Without further ado, here are the AP, Amway and Bleacher Report polls heading into Week 13. 

Ohio State's chances of making a return to the national championship are exceedingly slim. Daniel Uthman of USA Today explains what needs to happens for the Buckeyes to climb back into the Top Four: 

"

Beat Michigan Nov. 28 and have Penn State knock off Michigan State the same day. Ohio State can’t make the Big Ten championship game vs. Iowa without those two things happening.

If those two things did happen and the Buckeyes beat Iowa in the league title game, they would be in good position to return to the Playoff as the event’s No. 4 seed for the second consecutive year. But Ohio State can’t make that game without a win against Michigan and a Michigan State loss.

"

Even if those contests all break the Buckeyes' way, there's no guarantee it will get them back in the committee's good graces. The offense has stagnated in recent weeks, while at the same time Oklahoma has picked up wins over quality opponents like Baylor and TCU.

A win over Oklahoma State next week would be most impressive, but the Sooners could be in trouble if Baker Mayfield's injury proves to be serious and keeps him out of that pivotal contest. 

The Heisman candidate left in the second quarter of Saturday's game with a head injury, per ESPN.com's Jake Trotter. Head coach Bob Stoops wasn't able to provide a definitive answer on Mayfield's status going forward.

Jackson Laizure/Getty Images

"I sure don't know anything right now," Stoops said, via Trotter. "That'll all be up to our doctors and trainers. But they'll be thorough in checking him."

The lack of a Big 12 championship game of course hurts the Sooners' playoff chances, so don't be surprised if they don't bully their way into the Top Four even if they notch a big win over Oklahoma State.

Notre Dame is clinging to a Top Four spot, but without a championship game of its own to play, it would be pretty difficult to give them a spot over Ohio State if the latter won the Big Ten championship. The Sooners or even Michigan State could pip them as well. 

Alabama's playoff path is pretty straightforward and perhaps the clearest of anyone's, save for Clemson. The Crimson Tide should beat Auburn in the Iron Bowl—although just about anything is liable to happen in that crazy contest—and then lock up the SEC championship by beating Florida, which needed overtime to defeat Florida Atlantic 20-14 in Week 12.

Playing irrelevant Charleston Southern this late in the season does well to set them up for the final playoff push. Heisman candidate Derrick Henry carried the ball just nine times and got plenty of rest, as did several other key players in the 56-6 beatdown.