CFB Playoff Rankings Week 3: Don't pass the Buckeyes

Sometimes when something breaks, it smashes into a thousand pieces and is thrown away. Other times, it can be pieced back together and it looks pretty much the same.

Well, the top of the college football world last weekend, it broke. The Nos. 2, 3 and 4 teams lost on the same day for the first time since 1985. Surely this would put the College Football Playoff rankings into chaos, right? Right? Hello?

No. Three of the four teams ranked in playoff position remained and two of the teams didn't change spots. The top six stayed the same, just jumbled up a bit. One thing we do know, it isn't like the committee has to get anything correct right now. I mean, the four of the top eight spots are Big Ten teams... ahead of the highest ranked Big 12 team. Let's look at what happened:

#1: Alabama
On a day where the undefeateds fell, Alabama pounded Mississippi State.  .

#2: Ohio State
Ohio State deserves this spot. They've been blowing teams out of late and their one loss was at Penn State where a blocked kick was returned for the game-winning touchdown. They won at Oklahoma and Wisconsin and beat Nebraska 62-3. From here is where it may get interesting. We all know that Ohio State will play Michigan after Thanksgiving with the winner having a great shot at winning the Big Ten East division. But what if Ohio State wins that game and Penn State wins out and they go to the Big Ten Championship game but not the Buckeyes? Ohio State would most likely still get a playoff bid, but would ...

#3: Michigan 
... Michigan, if they lost a close one in Columbus? Michigan's loss at Iowa was a bad one since the Wolverines haven't played as tough a schedule as the Buckeyes. Can a two-loss Michigan team hold up? Hard to say. On the other hand, if they win out — which means beating Ohio State in Columbus — they look like a good playoff bet. Penn State isn't a problem for Michigan since they beat them.

#4: Clemson
It's clear that Clemson has little room for error. The Tigers loss last week was arguably the worst of the bunch — losing at home to a 20-point underdog in Pitt. Clemson has had a lot of tight games against lesser opponents this year, but they are the only team in the top six that has beaten another team in the top six. The Tigers have two trap games ahead at Wake Forest and at home with South Carolina before playing either Virginia Tech or North Carolina in the ACC title game.

First Two Out

#5: Louisville
Again, poor Louisville. The only win the Cardinals have that have any wow factor was that 63-20 blowout of Florida State. Thursday's game against Houston was supposed to be another opportunity to have a great win but the Cougars have fallen off after a great start. Their biggest claim to fame was nearly winning at Clemson which, again, doesn't hold as much weight since Pitt just went in and beat them. Still, could Louisville leap into the top four after the Michigan-Ohio State game is played? Washington or Penn State could jump over them if they win their divisions (Louisville most likely won't win theirs) and Wisconsin most likely would if they win the Big Ten championship.

#6: Washington
The committee had let it be known that they don't have a lot of faith in the Pac-12, as we all remember that an undefeated Washington was passed over by one-loss Texas A&M in the first poll. That is kind of odd since there are four Pac-12 teams ranked in the top 13 of this week's rankings, though Washington only beat one of them (Utah). The Huskies do have a shot at getting back into playoff position with a game at Washington State and then, with a win, against Colorado, USC or Utah in the conference championship game.

The rest of the pack 
#7: Wisconsin
#8: Penn State
#9: Oklahoma (Big 12 isn't dead yet!)
#10: Colorado
#11: Oklahoma State
#12: Utah
#13: USC
#14: West Virginia
#15: Auburn
#16: LSU
#17: Florida State
#18: Nebraska
#19: Tennessee
#20: Boise State
#21: Western Michigan
#22: Washington State
#23: Florida
#24: Stanford
#25: Texas A&M