College Football Playoff Rankings 2018: Best Reaction to Week 12 Top 25 Poll

With all the top dogs taking care of business this past weekend, it was the status quo atop the updated College Football Playoff rankings.

Each of the top-10 teams held their positions, but there was some notable shuffling in the middle of the pack. Here's an updated look at the full top-25 rankings:

1. Alabama (1)
2. Clemson (2)
3. Notre Dame (3)
4. Michigan (4)
5. Georgia (5)
6. Oklahoma (6)
7. LSU (7)
8. Washington State (8)
9. West Virginia (9)
10. Ohio State (10)
11. UCF (12)
12. Syracuse (13)
13. Florida (15)
14. Penn State (20)
15. Texas (19)
16. Iowa State (22)
17. Kentucky (11)
18. Washington (25)
19. Utah (NR)
20. Boston College (17)
21. Mississippi State (16)
22. Northwestern (NR)
23. Utah State (NR)
24. Cincinnati (NR)
25. Boise State (NR)

Once again, the placement of a two-loss LSU team at No. 7 raised some eyebrows:

LSU was able to squeak out a 24-17 over Arkansas on the road, with the Razorbacks scoring 14 fourth-quarter points to make it close.

Meanwhile, Washington State (31-7 over Colorado) and West Virginia (47-10 over TCU) both won handily in their games, yet they were still unable to leapfrog the Tigers.

The first movement in the rankings came at No. 11, with Kentucky falling six spots following a 24-7 loss to Tennessee. That allowed UCF and Syracuse to each move up one spot, and Florida to move up two spots.

The other team that dropped out of the top 15?

NC State, who fell out of the rankings entirely after a 27-23 loss to Wake Forest—who improved to 5-5 on the year and 2-4 in conference with the win. The Wolfpack is now 1-3 in their last four games after a 5-0 start to the year, so seeing them plummet wasn't a huge shock.

With Michigan State (18), Iowa (21), Fresno State (23) and Auburn (24) also dropping out of the rankings following losses, there were a total of five newcomers to the top 25, including two teams who are making their first appearance ever in the playoff rankings.

The biggest head-scratcher of the week might have been the decision to keep a four-loss Mississippi State team in the rankings, even after they were shutout by Alabama on Saturday.

As usual, fans of the "Group of 5" schools no doubt felt their teams were underappreciated:

That said, UCF did make some notable history:

Looking ahead to the upcoming weekend, there are a few heavyweight matchups to watch.

No. 3 Notre Dame will take on No. 12 Syracuse at Yankee Stadium in a game that has significant playoff implications. There's also a big game in the Big 12, as No. 15 Texas hosts No. 16 Iowa State.

Who will take the next step toward clinching a spot in the College Football Playoff?

We shall see.