College Football Playoff 2016: Championship, Final Four Predictions for Week 12

In between Tuesday night's slate of college basketball, the College Football Playoff committee released its post-Week 11 rankings after a number of major shakeups. 

Three teams sitting in playoff positions went down over the weekend as Clemson and Michigan lost on last-second field goals to Pittsburgh and Iowa while Washington went down to USC.

Here is how the current playoff picture looks after Tuesday night's reveal:

With many of the big-name programs in the hunt left with two games to play this season, here is how I think the semifinals and championship game will shape up come bowl season:

Game	Date	School	School
Peach Bowl/CFP Semifinal	Dec. 31	No. 1 Alabama	No. 4 Louisville
Fiesta Bowl/CFP Semifinal	Dec. 31	No. 2 Clemson	No. 3 Ohio State
National Championship	Jan. 9	No. 1 Alabama	No. 3 Ohio State

Why Each Team Makes The Playoff

Alabama Crimson Tide

The most consistent, dominant team isn't stumbling any time soon. 

While the rest of the top four stumbled, Alabama took care of Mississippi State 51-3. It might be against an unranked team, but this is the same Mississippi State team that upset then-No. 4, now No. 25 Texas A&M two weeks ago. 

As one of two remaining undefeated teams alongside Western Michigan, Alabama has picked up its 10 wins by an average margin of victory of 29 points. 

The defense has been the Crimson Tide's calling card, allowing just 12.2 points per game even though they are scoring 41.2 points per game. 

With a dangerous rushing attack along with that stout defense, there's no stopping Alabama yet. 

Clemson Tigers

No. 4 Clemson might be coming off the loss to Pittsburgh, but it might just be the second and final team in the final four that could have a conference title, which would seemingly propel it up to a No. 2 ranking. 

Much of that has to do with its win over Louisville earlier in the year, allowing Clemson to control its own destiny as we draw closer to December. 

With two games left against unranked Wake Forest and South Carolina in the regular season, Clemson's final test would be the ACC title game against either North Carolina or Virginia Tech. 

A win there would have the Tigers finish at 12-1, which would be impossible to turn away. Especially with one of the best quarterbacks in the nation in Deshaun Watson at the helm.

Ohio State Buckeyes

The Buckeyes' chances of winning the Big Ten are extremely slim considering they are in a three-way tie atop the East standings with No. 3 Michigan and No. 8 Penn State. 

Penn State delivered No. 2 Ohio State's lone loss this season, and with its remaining games against Rutgers and Michigan State, who are a combined 5-15 this year, the Nittany Lions don't seem likely to relinquish their perch atop the division. 

However, Ohio State's national title hopes are not extinguished, and they lie in its Nov. 26 matchup against the arch-rival Wolverines at home. 

Ohio State hasn't lost to Michigan since 2011, won 14 of the previous 16 meetings and hasn't lost at home since 2000. For a team that's been on the cusp of the top five for much of the past five years, I wouldn't pick against Urban Meyer and Ohio State at home. 

That would leave the Buckeyes at 11-1 with four Top 15 wins this season, which is a resume good enough for the semifinals.

Louisville Cardinals

When looking at the quality of losses, if there is such a thing, between No. 5 Louisville, Michigan and No. 6 Washington, one would have to say the Cardinals' lone loss this season came against the best team in Clemson. 

Had the Cardinals won that game, however, they would be challenging Alabama as the clear No. 1 team in the nation. 

Quarterback Lamar Jackson is the most explosive offensive threat in the nation with 2,898 passing yards and 1,334 more on the ground. Both of those figures lead the Cardinals this year. Behind him, Louisville has averaged 49.6 points per game, which ranks first in the nation and included a 63-20 win against then-No. 2 Florida State. 

Like Ohio State though, Louisville will likely not be competing for a conference title, as Clemson controls the ACC Atlantic. 

Still, the Cardinals are poised to finish 11-1 if they can beat Houston and Kentucky, which would provide a better record than Michigan if it were to lose to Ohio State with more impressive wins than Washington.

Stats courtesy of ESPN.com.