College football rankings: Week 12 AP Top 25 predictions

Week 11 of the college football season is in the books and while the AP Top 25 isn’t the most important poll, it’s a close preview of the playoff rankings.

Can you believe it? College football is entering the final two weeks of the regular season and before we know it, it’ll be conference championship week.

There weren’t many surprises in Week 11 as the premier matchups may be on the docket for the final two weeks.

Fortunately for fans, there were some ranked matchups in Week 11 as No. 10 Ohio State took down No. 24 Michigan State on the road thanks to a valiant defensive effort, No. 1 Alabama shut out Mississippi State, Georgia smacked Auburn and Clemson took care of Boston College on the road. Zero surprises.

Here’s what the Week 12 AP Top 25 could look like Sunday afternoon.

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Notre Dame
4. Michigan
5. Georgia
6. Oklahoma
7. West Virginia
8. Ohio State
9. Washington State
10. LSU
11. UCF
12. Syracuse
13. Texas
14. Utah State
15. Florida
16. Washington
17. Penn State
18. Iowa State
19. Kentucky
20. Cincinnati
21. Utah
22. Northwestern
23. Boston College
24. Boise State
25. Army

Northwestern will climb into the rankings after clinching the Big Ten West with a win at Iowa, Boise State knocked Fresno State out with a big win, Utah showed resiliency with a win over Oregon to climb back in the rankings and Army will likely make its first appearance of the year.

Alabama is clearly heads and shoulders above the rest of the field but Clemson, Notre Dame, Georgia, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Washington State and even Ohio State aren’t going away quietly. We’ve seen in the past that the country’s best team in the regular season doesn’t always come away with the national title.

The season is winding down, so these AP Top 25 projections could be similar to what the final playoff rankings will look like. It’s been a wild season, but the nation’s best teams are starting to separate themselves.

Buckle up, folks, the final few weeks of the regular season are going to be a roller-coaster ride.