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College Football Playoff Rankings 2016: Week 15 winners and losers

By Connor Muldowney

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley (26) celebrates with teammates after catching a touchdown pass against the Wisconsin Badgers in the second half during the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley (26) celebrates with teammates after catching a touchdown pass against the Wisconsin Badgers in the second half during the Big Ten Championship college football game at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 2, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Washington Huskies tight end Darrell Daniels (15) celebrates with wide receiver John Ross (1) after catching a 15 yard touchdown pass in the second quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes during the Pac-12 championship at Levi
Dec 2, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Washington Huskies tight end Darrell Daniels (15) celebrates with wide receiver John Ross (1) after catching a 15 yard touchdown pass in the second quarter against the Colorado Buffaloes during the Pac-12 championship at Levi /

Winner: Washington Huskies (Stayed at No. 4)

The first major bowl game that Washington has played in since 2000 will be quite possibly the toughest matchup the Huskies have ever encountered. After beating Colorado by 31 points in the Pac-12 Championship, the playoff committee felt that they were one of the top-four teams in college football still.

If Washington wasn’t ranked No. 4 last week, there’s a chance that the Huskies don’t get in and Penn State makes it over them. However, the committee slotted them at No. 4 last week and kept them at that spot this week after the big win over the eighth-ranked team in the country.

Washington played very well at the end of the year, outside of the loss to USC, and Jake Browning made his case for the Heisman Trophy. However, not many people would argue that the Wolverines of Michigan and Penn State are more deserving than the Huskies. There was a debate about whether or not they’d drop, and they stayed put.

If you’re Chris Petersen, you have to be ecstatic that you made the College Football Playoff in your fresh tenure at Washington, but you also have to be very weary of a first-round matchup with Alabama on Dec. 31.

Petersen is happy to get in, but you know the saying: be careful what you wish for. Alabama is a different animal and that game won’t be an easy task.

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