Projected college football rankings after Alabama falls at Tennessee, Michigan embarrasses itself

The Saturday afternoon college football slate was jam-packed with postseason consequences. The move from four playoff teams to 12 playoff teams has completely changed how we talk about wins and losses — not to mention the complete shuffling of the deck from conference realignment, which has left a couple of conferences positively stacked with high-level football teams.

Pour one out for Auburn, maybe the best 2-5 team of all time, and say a silent prayer tonight for Michigan fans, whose postseason hopes are dashed after their third loss in seven weeks. That is, unless you're on the Ohio State train, in which case there is plenty to look forward to after last week's gut-wrenching loss, made all the more palatable by Michigan's post-Harbaugh collapse.

Meanwhile, Tennessee beat Alabama in one of the day's most entertaining showdowns.

The college football rankings only change once a week, but the calculus is ever-shifting on Saturdays, with teams rising and falling at all hours of the day. We cannot claim to know the inner mind of the selection committee, but yours truly has access to a keyboard and the daily scoreboard, so here's my best estimation of how the AP Top 25 will shake out after a hectic (half-)day of football.

Projected college football rankings after Tennessee beats Alabama, Illinois stomps Michigan

1. Texas Longhorns
2. Oregon Ducks
3. Penn State Nittany Lions
4. Ohio State Buckeyes
5. Georgia Bulldogs
6. Tennessee Volunteers
7. Miami Hurricanes
8. LSU Tigers
9. Iowa State Cyclones
10. Clemson Tigers
11. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
12. Indiana Hoosiers
13. BYU Cougars
14. Texas A&M Aggies
15. Boise State Broncos
16. Kansas State Wildcats
17. Illinois Fighting Illini
18. Alabama Crimson Tide
19. Ole Miss Rebels
20. Missouri Tigers
21. Pittsburgh Panthers
22. SMU Mustangs
23. Army Black Knights
24. Navy Midshipmen
25. Washington State Cougars

As we await the outcome of Georgia-Texas, the most consequential game so far today was Alabama-Tennessee. The Crimson Tide sought to reassert themselves after a middling performance against South Carolina last week. Meanwhile, it was a chance for the Volunteers to stake their claim as a top-shelf SEC school.

The ultimate victor was the home team, Tennessee, which sends Alabama into something of a tailspin. That's a dramatic choice of phrase for a two-loss SEC school, but there are high expectations baked into the Alabama football program. Kalen DeBoer took over for Nick Saban and immediately won his first matchup with UGA, sending the fandom's spirits to the moon. Then he lost to Vanderbilt, and now Tennessee. Alabama is done with that cursed state for a while, but the damage is irreversible.

A postseason path still exists for the Crimson Tide, but it's that much tougher. The SEC is a bloodbath and the schedule won't let up much. Alabama still has Missouri, LSU, and arch-rival Auburn on the docket.

Indiana's commanding victory over Nebraska, previously a top-25 hopeful, set the tone for today, The Hoosiers are rolling in a loaded Big Ten. A few more unexpected victories, and we could be talking about Indiana as a top-five team. What a time to be alive.

Expect more updates after the night games. We aren't close to done, folks.