College Football Playoff rankings Week 2: Huskies up

Nothing else important is happening tonight, right?

*nervously sips a whisky on the rocks*

Nothing. 

*hand twitches*

College Football Playoff Rankings!

After last week's controversial rankings that included Texas A&M at the #4 spot, there's been a bit of movement here. Oddly enough, LSU fell to #24 after losing to Alabama, allowing Nebraska to leapfrog them even after Ohio State beat them by 59 points. That's going to be one of the major stories after this week, besides Texas A&M dropping to #8 and being replaced in the playoff conversation by Washington.

#1: Alabama

No surprises here. There's no reason to believe, even after their offense sputtered a bit against LSU, that Alabama is not the best team in the country. They have their destiny in their own hands, and odds are that they keep this spot, unless they suffer a pretty severe upset. It's pretty much the same story as last week: there are few teams in the country right now that seem to be able to stand up to the Crimson Tide. Personally, as a Big Ten fan, I think Michigan has the best shot at beating them in a playoff game, but that's not my decision to make.

#2: Clemson

Maybe it's Big Ten bias again, but to me, Clemson should be #3. Close wins against Auburn, Louisville, and Florida State were the only real tests that Clemson has had so far this year. The back three games of their schedule don't look much better. They have a very high chance of winning out, but I believe they stand a good chance of being jumped as teams below them notch wins over more formiddable opponents. 

#3: Michigan

Michigan has been a bit hamstrung by a strength of schedule problem. Now, to be fair, when the 2016 college football season started, the schedule looked strong, but the way this season has progressed, with the slide of previous Big Ten powerhouses like Iowa and Michigan State, their resume has taken a severe hit, and to me, that's the only reason they're ranked behind Clemson. Everybody will be looking forward to their matchup with Ohio State as the season concludes to see which Big Ten squad will make the playoff (unless they both make their way into the top-four).

#4: Washington

Finally. Washington Huskies fans can breathe a temporary sigh of relief. They're an undefeated squad, and to keep them out of the playoff picture when Ohio State and Louisville both have losses on their schedules would simply be unfair. Now, to be fair, Washington will have to win out to keep this spot, since the Pac-12 is weak this year, but as of now, Washington has locked up a very well-deserved playoff spot.

First two out

#5: Ohio State

Even though Penn State is looking more and more legitimate every week, Urban Meyer must be livid. Given the way the rankings went last week, an undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes squad would definitely have snatched the #4 spot away from the Huskies, and possibly challenged for a #3 or #2 spot. The fact remains that, for both Ohio State and Michigan, the key game will be their matchup at the end of the season. That game will determine the playoff seedings for those two, assuming each of them take care of business before then.

#6: Louisville

Poor Louisville. They've been on the outside looking in for a while. Their one loss to second-ranked Clemson has hurt them a ton, and they haven't been able to put away teams like Duke and Virginia. To me, that's the only reason they are behind Ohio State, another one-loss team. Louisville, however, is staring down three more games this season that would not be particularly impressive wins. Houston has suffered a precipitous fall from grace, and Kentucky is unranked. They'll need some help from the top 5 teams to claw their way back in, even if they do take care of business.

The rest of the pack:

 #7: Wisconsin

#8: Texas A&M (Ouch.)

#9: Auburn

#10: Penn State

#11: Oklahoma

#12: Colorado

#13: Oklahoma State

#14: Virginia Tech

#15: Utah

#16: West Virginia

#17: North Carolina

#18: Florida State

#19: Nebraska (Wait, REALLY? After losing that badly to Ohio State?)

#20: USC

#21: Western Michigan (No respect.)

#22: Boise State

#23: Washington State

#24: LSU (Wait, really? This much? After the Bama loss?)

#25: Arkansas