Rapid Reax: CFB Playoff Rankings - Week 4

Clemson remained at the top of the College Football Playoff Rankings
for the fourth straight week. (Photo courtesy The AP)

The College Football Playoff Committee released its weekly rankings and following three undefeated teams falling, there has been some shakeup near the top. Clemson and Alabama remained locked in at the top two spots.

Then, there were some intriguing moves. Oklahoma jumped to No. 3 and Iowa moved into the final Playoff spot, bumping Notre Dame. But the Irish fall didn't end there. Michigan State is No. 5 ahead of Notre Dame, meaning the Committee dropped Notre Dame from fourth to sixth. The Irish struggled in a pseudo-home game against lowly Boston College.

I'm honestly shocked Oklahoma made that big a jump. The assumption all along has been that the Committee disrespects the Big 12. OU defeated TCU, who dropped like a rock after a loss to Oklahoma State and a win against Kansas. The Sooners beating the Frogs by one wasn't overly impressive, but it did give Oklahoma another win over a Top 20 team.

Iowa finally made it into the Top 4. After all, the Hawkeyes are the only other unbeaten team beside Clemson. It seems clear that if Michigan State defeats Penn State this week, the winner of the Iowa-Michigan State Big Ten Championship Game will be in the Playoff. With OU at No. 3 and playing No. 11 Oklahoma State on the road, it's unlikely that the Sooners would fall past No. 4 (if Big Ten winner jumps them in final rankings).

That leaves us to discuss Notre Dame. The Irish go to No. 9 Stanford this week and could add a significant win to their résumé. Would it be enough to overtake the final spot from a one-loss Big 12 champion Oklahoma? Or is the Committee sending a message to the Irish that they need to join a conference?

Rounding out the Top 10 are Baylor, Ohio State, Stanford and Michigan. The winner of Michigan-Ohio State obviously has a chance to move up, but would need Michigan State to lose to Penn State to earn a berth in the Big Ten title game. Baylor is lurking and is the only Big 12 team in the running which is playing on the final weekend (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and TCU are all off Dec. 5).

Stanford has a very interesting argument, as the Cardinal could knock off a team ahead of them (Notre Dame) and then defeat a potential Top 25 team in the Pac-12 title game (currently ranked No. 22 UCLA or unranked USC). Stanford likely needs help, though, with two losses already on its résumé.

Only two weeks left to decide the 2015 Playoff bracket. Who do you think gets in?

Here's the complete Top 10
1) Clemson
2) Alabama
3) Oklahoma
4) Iowa
5) Michigan State
6) Notre Dame
7) Baylor
8) Ohio State
9) Stanford
10) Michigan

-BtW