College Football Rankings 2015: NCAA Week 14 Polls and Standings Projections

As college football prepares for its final regular-season weekend—save for the Army-Navy game Dec. 12—every snap means more than the next in the quest for the national championship.

The next College Football Playoff rankings will be released Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, and some key Week 14 games will go a long way in determining if they remain that way when the final rankings are announced Dec. 6.

Let's take a look at the Associated Press Top 25 and coaches' polls for Week 14, a CFP prediction and some matchups that will set the stage for the final four teams vying for the national championship.

Rank	Team	Previous Rank	Week 14 Matchup
1	Clemson Tigers (12-0)	1	Dec. 5. vs. No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels
2	Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1)	2	Dec 5. vs. No. 18 Florida Gators
3	Michigan State Spartans (11-1)	5	Dec. 5. vs. No. 4 Iowa Hawkeyes
4	Oklahoma Sooners (11-1)	3	No game

Sparty's on a Roll

After a head-scratching loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers Nov. 7, it didn't look good for the Michigan State Spartans. Since then, however, they have rolled off three consecutive victories, including a road win against the previously unbeaten Ohio State Buckeyes and a 55-16 trouncing of the Penn State Nittany Lions.

The Spartans are certainly passing the eye test right now, and if these projections hold true, they would actually jump their Big Ten Championship foe, the undefeated Iowa Hawkeyes.

The CFP committee moved the Spartans from No. 9 to No. 5 after the Ohio State victory, and even if they don't move into the Top Four, a victory this weekend over Iowa will seal the deal for a playoff appearance.

Though they do trail Iowa in terms of record and the AP Poll, OddsShark.com has the Spartans as four-point favorites in Week 14. Although it's close, RealTimeRPI.com ranks Michigan State ahead of Iowa at No. 3, while the Hawkeyes are No. 5.

The Spartans offense has scored 30-plus points eight times this season and should be able to move the ball against an Iowa defense that is allowing 25.5 points per game the past four weeks.

Prediction: Michigan State wins, 31-21.

A Clemson Loss Would Be Interesting

The 12-0 Clemson Tigers have been the No. 1 ranked team in all four polls. The committee clearly thinks they are more than just an undefeated team, considering they were ranked ahead of six other Power Five undefeated teams when the first rankings were released on Nov. 3.

However, let's say the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels beat the Tigers in Saturday's ACC Championship Game. The two teams would have identical records, only North Carolina would be 1-0 in head-to-head matchups.

Even before the Week 13 games, Robby Kalland of CBSSports.com wrote that a North Carolina win could crush Clemson's chances:

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The Heels, playing their best football of the season down the stretch, would then meet Clemson in the ACC title game where they will be plenty motivated as an underdog to the Tigers. Clemson will be coming off a closing stretch with Syracuse, Wake Forest and South Carolina, which could create a little complacency as the Tigers playoff spot is all but secured.

If North Carolina catches Clemson sleep-walking into the ACC title game, the Tar Heels might could get it done. Beating the No. 1 team in the nation would vault North Carolina over Clemson in the rankings and force a conversation about them making the playoff.

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A loss could potentially mean Clemson has the same amount of defeats as six other Top-10 teams. Should Iowa beat Michigan State, it would have fewer losses than the Tigers.

It's likely they could weather the storm, considering their only loss would be to a Top-10 team and they would have one of the more impressive wins with a 24-22 victory over the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Still, some other teams could potentially have stronger resumes. With a win Saturday, Alabama will have an SEC championship on its resume and three Top-25 wins.  Iowa could have a win over No. 5 Michigan State, and the Spartans could end up with a win against the No. 4 Hawkeyes.

Oklahoma would be 11-1, with three Top-20 victories. 

Again, Clemson would still have a strong resume and the advantage of being No. 1, with the unlikelihood of dropping four spots on their side.

However, that doesn't mean it wouldn't make things interesting. 

Big 12 Could Be Snubbed Again

We already know the Big 12 Conference's only hope at a team in the CFP is the Oklahoma Sooners, who currently sit at No. 3 in the rankings.

The problem for Oklahoma is it does not have a game this weekend to upgrade its resume by virtue of the Big 12 opting not to have a conference championship game.

So the Sooners sit at home and pray for all the scenarios that make them look better, hoping they don't suffer the same fate as the 12-1 TCU Horned Frogs and 11-2 Baylor Bears a year ago.

What about the scenarios that make the Sooners not as appealing to the CFP? There are some that could potentially knock them out of the Top Four.

Let's say Baylor loses to the 4-7 Texas Longhorns this weekend. Don't laugh, because Texas is the only team to beat Oklahoma this year. Suddenly a win over a 9-3 Bears team doesn't look as impressive as a 10-2 Baylor team.

If Iowa, currently No. 4 in the CFP, beats Michigan State, it is 13-0 and now looks as impressive as any team in the country—certainly better than an 11-1 Oklahoma team with a nearly identical RPI.

Clemson and Alabama are already ahead of Oklahoma, so should they win, they lock up the top two spots. Iowa could jump the Sooners, leaving them at No. 4 and as nervous as ever.

A North Carolina win puts them at 12-1 with a conference championship, and even Ohio State would have the same record with a better loss. If the No. 7 Stanford Cardinal defeat the USC Trojans for the Pac-12 title, they have a true conference championship, and a win over Notre Dame in their back pocket.

Oklahoma's best win is against TCU, who isn't even under consideration for the CFP at this point.

Despite that, and the chance for other teams to pad their resumes, don't add ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit to the list of people who think Oklahoma's chances are in jeopardy:

It would take a lot for the Sooners to drop, but they need to root for the two teams ahead of them to lose, as well as the teams creeping up behind them in the standings.

If not, the Big 12 may seriously want to consider adding a championship game.