College Football Rankings

Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan and Clemson held the top four spots in the College Football Playoff rankings announced Tuesday night for the second straight week. The committee will issue two more sets of rankings and rest assured they cannot look like these.

The earthquake that’s coming is No. 3 Michigan playing No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus on Saturday. One of these teams, which are both 10-1, will emerge with a second loss. If it’s the Buckeyes, the Wolverines go to the Big Ten Championship game and OSU’s dreams of another championship will fade. But even an Ohio State victory is no guarantee it will play for the Big Ten championship because of its loss to Penn State (9-2).

One team that stands to gain is Washington. The No. 5 Huskies (10-1) play No. 23 Washington State (8-3) on Friday afternoon and take the Pac-12 North title and earn a shot at the conference championship with a win, where they would play either No. 9 Colorado or No. 13 Southern Cal, which handed them their only defeat.

Another team to watch is No. 6 Wisconsin (9-2). The Badgers are home Saturday against pesky Minnesota (8-3). Any other upsets involving Alabama, which plays, Auburn or Clemson, going up against South Carolina, might crack the door open for Wisconsin.

The gap between Alabama and the rest seems fairly significant but the games must be played and the scenario played out. The Big Ten may yet have a lot to say, though, about who becomes national champion.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman