AP College Football Poll 2016: Top 25 Rankings for Week 15

The Associated Press released its Week 15 rankings Sunday after a weekend full of conference championships and fantastic contests. 

Below, we'll break down the AP poll and take a look back at the weekend that was.

Analysis

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The weekend's slate of key matchups and conference title games didn't offer many upsets or surprises, as Alabama, Clemson and Washington all held serve and Oklahoma knocked off Oklahoma State. 

The weekend's biggest result was Penn State defeating Wisconsin, 38-31, after trailing 28-7 in the first half. That left the College Football Playoff committee with a few interesting decisions to make between teams like Ohio State, Penn State and Washington later Sunday.

The Associated Press left Penn State out of its Top Four, though, which is the expected result for the CFP rankings as well.

The question for the committee, then, is a simple one: Did Penn State do enough Saturday night to jump ahead of Ohio State or Clemson?

"Every time I turn on the TV or read an article, people said this year the Big Ten Conference was by far the strongest conference in college football," Nittany Lions coach James Franklin told Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com, via ABC News. "I've heard that over and over again. We just won the Big Ten Conference championship. ... So I think we can make a great case for ourselves."

Penn State presented three strong arguments:

1. It won the toughest conference in college football.
2. It beat Ohio State head-to-head.
3. It has won nine straight games and is one of the hottest teams in college football.

Ohio State and Washington, however, each made a case that is always likely to trump Penn State's argument: They lost just once.

Barrett Sallee of Bleacher Report elaborated on that claim:

ESPN Stats & Info also provided an interesting perspective:

And Washington sealed the Pac-12 title with a convincing 41-10 win over Colorado. While the Huskies didn't play a quality nonconference schedule, they still had strong wins over Utah, Washington State and Colorado and a lone loss against a USC team that is, perhaps after Alabama and Penn State, the hottest team in the country.

Ohio State had the week off after failing to qualify for the Big Ten title game, but wins over Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Michigan—and a tight road loss to Penn State—left the Buckeyes with arguably the best resume in college football.

The committee has a tough decision to make, but based on the fact Ohio State came into the week No. 2 and Washington was No. 4 and posted a quality win, it's hard to see Penn State bumping either team out of the Top Four. Certainly, the AP saw things that way.

The AP poll may offer a few other hints about what could transpire later. If USC indeed finishes above Colorado in the rankings, it will be off to the Rose Bowl. Wisconsin staying above Colorado, meanwhile, gives the Badgers an excellent shot at being selected for the Cotton Bowl versus Western Michigan. Auburn, and not LSU or Florida, seems likely to meet Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl.

Obviously, these decisions remain up in the air, and the committee's poll may differ significantly from the AP version. But on a Saturday devoid of any madness-inducing upsets or results, it seems unlikely any surprises are in store for college football fans on Selection Sunday. 

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