College Football Playoff 2017: Rankings and Reaction from Week 12 Poll

If we learned anything heading into Week 12, it is that we seemed destined to witness the most chaos yet when deciding the 2017 College Football Playoff.

Could one or two teams possibly make it in with two losses? What does the Big Ten's road look like? Is the Pac-12 totally done? 

These are just some of the many questions that are percolating throughout college football after the committee released the latest playoff rankings. Things could become clearer, but this last week showed that additional pandemonium is certainly possible since two of the top four teams were recently dealt blowout losses. 

Current Top 25 Playoff Rankings

1. Alabama

2. Clemson

3. Miami

4. Oklahoma

5. Wisconsin

6. Auburn

7. Georgia

8. Notre Dame

9. Ohio State

10. Penn State

11. USC

12. TCU

13. Oklahoma State

14. Washington State

15. UCF

16. Mississippi State

17. Michigan State

18. Washington

19. NC State

20. LSU

21. Memphis

22. Stanford

23. Northwestern

24. Michigan

25. Boise State

Two-Loss Team Destined for Playoff

In the three-year history of the playoff, no team with two losses has ever earned a spot. We crept toward that streak ending last season with Penn State nearly overtaking Washington for the No. 4 seed, and now it appears certain at least one squad with multiple blemishes will play for a national title.

After dismantling No. 1 Georgia last week, Auburn appears all but certain to earn a playoff spot if it can win out. By finishing 11-2, the Tigers will have beat Alabama once and Georgia twice to close out three of the last four weeks of the regular season.

Based on the way the committee seems to value quality wins over losses, especially tight road losses against ranked teams like Auburn has, the Tigers will find some way in. Committee chairman Kirby Hocutt divulged some that logic on Tuesday night, via journalist Bonnie Bernstein:

However, the two-loss debate looks like it could leave the Big 12 with the short stick.

Oklahoma, who already has one loss, moved up just one spot after knocking off fellow Top 10 squad TCU in convincing fashion. If the Sooners were to fall again, they look to most certainly be out, but if the committee is emphasizing wins, then why is that a given?

The Sooners have arguably the best resume in the nation, with their lone loss coming on the road to a good Iowa State team. Brad Crawford of 247Sports broke it down against Clemson, a team the committee had repeatedly lauded:

If more chaos ensues, Oklahoma has as strong of a case as any to still make the playoff, assuming its loss comes in the Big 12 title game.

TCU also appears to have received a raw deal with coming in at No. 12, which Big 12 Diehards' Shehan Jeyarajah certainly noticed:

Penn State's best win is at home against a Michigan team that was much worse than with John O'Korn at quarterback than the current Wolverines. TCU has a road win over Oklahoma State and a secondary win over West Virginia, who is on the same level as Iowa, who is Penn State's second-best win.

If the Horned Frogs end up winning the Big 12, it seems unlikely that they can get into the playoff, unfair or not.

Can the Big Ten Get In?

For all of the preseason hype surrounding the strength of the Big Ten, there is a legitimate chance the conference has played itself out of a playoff spot.

Wisconsin sits at No. 5 at 10-0, but the Badgers' resume is very thin, as their best win came at home against a now-unranked Iowa team this past week. For Wisconsin to have any shot of earning a playoff berth, it must run the table and win a conference title over Ohio State, who essentially just needs to beat Illinois this week to clinch the Big Ten East.

Even if they do that, the Badgers are not guaranteed a spot with only one strong win, as Yahoo's Pat Forde asserted:

The Badgers are vulnerable to being jumped by a two-loss Auburn team or even one-loss Miami or Alabama. 

On the other hand, Ohio State represents the Big Ten's only secondary chance of landing in the playoff, as the Buckeyes received a rather favorable ranking at No. 9. Whether or not Ohio State deserves such high marks for losing at home to Oklahoma and then sputtering to a 31-point loss at Iowa is a moot point with the rankings already set; now it is important to decide just how high the Buckeyes can climb.

Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman is one to think Ohio State could be playoff-bound:

For that to happen, Ohio State would need Alabama to win out to avoid the possibility of having two one-loss SEC teams should Georgia win the conference. The Buckeyes would then have to jump either Miami or Clemson, which could be tough, but not inconceivable. This is especially true when measured against the Hurricanes, who would not have the strength of wins as Ohio State, but one loss nonetheless.

Either way, the fact that the Big Ten has two teams in the Top 10 with spotty resumes certainly rubbed some people the wrong way, including Carson Cunningham of KOCO in Oklahoma City:

In the end, it appears the Big Ten could very well miss the playoff. There are plenty of dominoes that need to fall the league's way, but they have as good of a standing as any with three teams in the top 10.

Pac-12 Officially Shut Out?

With Washington's loss to Stanford, the Pac-12 has no teams inside the Top 10 and no teams with fewer than two losses, so what does that mean?

Somehow, USC, with a blowout loss to Notre Dame and a loss to Washington State, are ranked ahead of the Cougars. Mike Leach's team has three wins over ranked playoff teams—Boise State, Stanford and USC—but inexplicably sits behind the Trojans and Penn State.

Washington State also has a chance to significantly add to that resume after a potential win over Washington, per Tim Booth of the Associated Press:

Another win over USC in the Pac-12 title game could give the Cougars potentially five wins over ranked teams, which is an outstanding resume for a two-loss team. 

Still, it appears the committee does not respect the Pac-12 nearly as much as the Big Ten and the SEC. Even a brand name like USC, which still has a decent resume, was passed up for a lacking team like Penn State for reasons unknown. ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg was among the many to question this:

Unfortunately, the Pac-12 appears destined to watch the playoff from home this season, barring any significant upsets to contenders.