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College Football Conference Power Rankings: Week 11

By Nathaniel Reeves

Nov 5, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers running back Leonard Fournette (7) is tackled by Alabama Crimson Tide defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson (54) during the second half of a game at Tiger Stadium. Alabama defeated LSU 10-0. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 5, 2016; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Tigers running back Leonard Fournette (7) is tackled by Alabama Crimson Tide defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson (54) during the second half of a game at Tiger Stadium. Alabama defeated LSU 10-0. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Here’s how the Power Five stacks up heading into Week 11 of the 2016 college regular season.

College football Week 10 didn’t appear to have many marquee games on paper, but the playoff picture looks substantially different after a few surprising results on Saturday.

The game of the day was in Baton Rouge, where No. 1 Alabama topped LSU in a 10-0 slugfest. Once again, the Crimson Tide look like the class of the nation by far, and the Iron Bowl should be their last hurdle before the National Semifinal.

Week 10 didn’t go so well for other SEC contenders. Texas A&M, which shockingly appeared at No. 4 in the first committee rankings, was stunned by a bad Mississippi State team, while Florida picked up a second loss in an ugly game at Arkansas.

Michigan, Washington and Louisville all cruised against middling teams in their respective conferences. Week 10’s most impressive win belonged to Ohio State, which eviscerated No. 10 Nebraska 62-3 to eliminate whatever playoff hopes the Cornhuskers had left.

The results on Saturday brought a change to the top of the conference power rankings, with the Big Ten taking over the top spot from the SEC. Meanwhile, the Pac-12 is slowly closing the gap to the top three, while the Big 12 is falling further behind.

5. Big 12

Week 10 got off to a rough start for the Big 12 with the release of the initial College Football Playoff rankings. Baylor and West Virginia, the two one-loss teams remaining in the conference, were ranked 17th and 20th respectively by the committee, too far down to make a miracle run to the playoff.

Any possibility of Baylor making the New Year’s Six is now gone after a 62-22 beatdown at the hands of arch-rival TCU. West Virginia at least won its game against hapless Kansas, but need a lot of help to even crack the top 10 by the end of the year.

Oklahoma wasn’t particularly impressive either in a 34-24 win over Iowa State on Thursday night. Still, the Sooners moved up to No. 9 in the AP Poll and look poised to run the table in conference, which would at least qualify them for a New Year’s Six bowl.

Texas got above the .500 mark with a 45-37 road win against disappointing Texas Tech. While that game didn’t matter much in the standings this year, it could have a longer term impact, as Charlie Strong is on the right track to save his job. No. 17 Oklahoma State could be the second-highest ranked team in the committee poll after beating a promising Kansas State squad 43-37 in Manhattan.

Oklahoma is playing well, but its two ugly non-conference losses hurt the Big 12’s perception overall, and there isn’t enough depth here to challenge the rest of the Power Five.

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