College Football Rankings 2017: Overview of Week 12 Standings for NCAA's Top 25

Even college football needs a break every now and then. It's a long season, after all, and the occasional low-key weekend is necessary to help balance out the more exciting moments.

And after the chaos of Week 11, when four teams previously ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll suffered critical losses, this weekend's slate has all the makings of a lazy afternoon at the beach in comparison. On paper, at least.

Only one Top 25 matchup is on the docket, though it does involve one of the four remaining unbeaten teams. Just six other ranked teams are playing on the road, but their foes have a combined record of 25-35 only one holding a record above .500.

So this means nothing wild should happen, right? Or it could mean we're in for some major surprises.

One ranked team has already notched a victory, as No. 23 South Florida edged Tulsa 27-20 on Thursday night.

Here are the AP rankings heading into Week 12, along with matchups for each team.

Associated Press Top 25

1. Alabama (57 first-place votes), 10-0, 1,521 points, vs. Mercer
2. Miami (4), 9-0, 1,438 points, vs. Virginia
3. Oklahoma, 9-1, 1,367 points, at Kansas
4. Clemson, 9-1, 1,358 points, vs. The Citadel
5. Wisconsin, 10-0, 1,322 points, vs. No. 19 Michigan
6. Auburn, 8-2, 1,199 points, vs. Louisiana-Monroe
7. Georgia, 9-1, 1,151 points, vs. Kentucky
8. Ohio State, 8-2, 1,036 points, vs. Illinois
9. Notre Dame, 8-2, 1,001 points, vs. Navy
10. Oklahoma State, 8-2, 898 points, vs. Kansas State
11. TCU, 8-2, 875 points, at Texas Tech
12. USC, 9-2, 866 points, vs. UCLA
13. Penn State, 8-2, 818 points, vs. Nebraska
14. UCF, 9-0, 807 points, at Temple
15. Washington State, 9-2, 614 points, OFF
16. Washington, 8-2, 575 points, vs. Utah
17. Mississippi State, 7-3, 492 points, at Arkansas
18. Memphis, 8-1, 437 points, vs. SMU
19. Michigan, 8-2, 315 points, at No. 5 Wisconsin
20. Stanford, 7-3, 287 points, vs. California
21. LSU, 7-3, 276 points, at Tennessee
22. Michigan State, 7-3, 259 points, vs. Maryland
23. South Florida, 9-1, 236 points, Won 27-20 Thurs. vs. Tulsa
24. West Virginia, 7-3, 222 points, vs. Texas
25. North Carolina State, 7-3, 178 points, at Wake Forest

The only matchup of ranked teams this weekend may also be the lone game on Saturday that can have an effect on the next College Football Playoff rankings. No. 5 Wisconsin (10-0, 7-0) has locked up the Big Ten's West Division title but despite a perfect record is still on the outside of the playoffs, mostly because of a lack of quality wins on its schedule.

A victory over No. 19 Michigan (8-2, 5-2) can help with that, and such a win will likely come with what USA Today's George Schroeder calls "a decidedly unsexy brand of football" because it focuses on running the ball and controlling the clock on offense. Why wouldn't the Badgers do that when they have the nation's top freshman rusher in Jonathan Taylor, who has 1,525 yards and 12 touchdowns?

Taylor will be facing one of his toughest tests in Michigan, which ranks ninth nationally against the run. No. 7 on that list is Northwestern, whom Wisconsin beat 33-24 at home on Sept. 30 with Taylor averaging a season-low 4.2 yards per carry.

For the record, Wisconsin is No. 1 in run defense, yielding 81.5 yards per game, part of its top-rated total defense.

While Wisconsin is still trying to prove the doubters wrong, Miami (Florida) has already accomplished that. Its 41-8 drubbing of Notre Dame last week boosted the Hurricanes (9-0, 6-0 ACC) to their highest AP ranking since 2003.

Now all they have to do is hold serve the next few weeks before facing defending national champion Clemson in the ACC championship on Dec. 2, a game that, as it stands, would be an unofficial playoff quarterfinal. Which means avoiding a letdown after the high of last week, something Virginia (6-4, 3-3) would be more than willing to provide.

Expect Miami's turnover chain to make a few more appearances. The gaudy necklace, which whoever forces a takeaway gets to don, has come out 24 times in nine games to lead the Hurricanes to a stellar plus-15 turnover margin.

Brett Deering/Getty Images

As the only power conference without divisions, the Big 12 will pit its top two teams in a resurrected championship game next month. No. 3 Oklahoma (9-1, 6-1) can move closer to locking up a spot in that contest with a win at lowly Kansas (1-9, 0-7), while several other teams are battling for the second bid.

No. 11 TCU (8-2, 5-2) is tied with No. 10 Oklahoma State (8-2, 5-2) and No. 24 West Virginia (7-3, 5-2) for second place but has the edge because of head-to-head wins over the Cowboys and Mountaineers. Win its final two games, starting with Saturday's trip to Texas Tech (5-5, 2-5), and the Horned Frogs will be playing in the championship.

They'll be going at it in Lubbock without senior quarterback Kenny Hill, who, per Carlos Mendez of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, did not make the trip because of an apparent concussion. Freshman Shawn Robinson, who has appeared in five games this season, will get the start.

The game will also feature the return of the Saddle Trophy, which was at stake until 1970 when it was "misplaced—never to be seen again," per Dean Straka of DieHards.com, until the school's athletic directors got together and had a new version made for this year's meeting.

A TCU loss would open the door for Oklahoma State, which hosts Kansas State (5-5, 3-4), or West Virginia, which hosts Texas (5-5, 4-3), to sneak into the Big 12 championship.

Statistics are provided by CFBStats unless otherwise noted. Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.