College Football Playoff Rankings 2016, Week 12: Alabama, then who?

Looking at the latest College Football Playoff Rankings for Week 12 of the 2016 season with Alabama at No. 1, but controversy behind them.

Coming into last Saturday for the college football world, determining the 2016 College Football Playoff Rankings for Week 11—Nos. 1-4 in particular. That is no longer the case heading into Week 12. The selection committee had one insanely difficult task on their hands after what happened this past week.

For the first time since the 1985 season, the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 teams all were upset on the same day. The Clemson Tigers, Michigan Wolverines, and Washington Huskies all went down. It was a day that was sure to shake up everything in the football world. More specifically, it was a day set to wreak havoc on the College Football Playoff Rankings.

Going into Tuesday night’s announcement of the new rankings, there was no consensus on who the top four teams in the new poll should be. Obviously the Alabama Crimson Tide would remain at No. 1 as one of two undefeated teams in the country and having kept that pace.

When it was time to face the music for all of these teams, though, what did the selection committee ultimately decide? Here’s a look at the 2016 College Football Playoff Rankings for Week 12 of the season:

Louisville Cardinals fans are certainly peeved at these results, but it’s the right call. Clemson is better in terms of resume and everything else and should be at No. 4. Perhaps the most surprising part is that Michigan jumped both the Tigers and Cardinals. However, either Ohio State or Michigan is going to fall out following their rivalry game, so things are still ready to get wild.

Outside of the six teams at the top, the Penn State Nittany Lions are lurking in a big way. If they were to win out and win the Big Ten Championship Game, they might potentially have a strong two-loss case for one of the coveted four spots.

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Also, it’s a bit absurd that the undefeated Western Michigan Broncos can’t even crack the top-20 and aren’t ranked ahead of the Boise State Broncos. However, that could change if they simply continue to put a number in the win-column. As for the rest of the teams at the top, they should let this past week be a lesson: nothing is safe, so don’t let up now.