2015 College Football Rankings - Week 12

After a loss by Ohio State and a game that was far closer than it ought to have been for Notre Dame, there are two new teams in the top four this week. Baylor is back in it, after a very good win over previously unbeaten Oklahoma State, and Navy comes in at number four, having blown out most of the teams they have played this year. The Navy-Notre Dame comparison is especially intriguing, because Notre Dame beat Navy head-to-head, and you would expect that if Navy was to be higher ranked, it would be because Notre Dame has a bad loss or two, but the Fighting Irish have only lost one game, on the road to undefeated Clemson, which cannot be classified as a bad loss. Instead, our analysis shows that Navy's wins are that much better than Notre Dame's other wins, which tend to be a little bit closer than they ought to be if the Fighting Irish want to be in the playoff. Notre Dame's upcoming game against #8 Stanford looms big if they want to justify a place in the top four again.

In another interesting side note, there are only two undefeated teams remaining - Clemson and the Iowa Hawkeyes that - because of their close games against a relatively week schedule - still come in at #9, even behind two-loss Stanford. Meanwhile, the PAC-12 South champion, the winner of next week's USC-UCLA rivalry game, is currently outside of the Top 25, meaning that it is possible, although certainly they would move up if they did beat Stanford in the PAC-12 Championship Game, for the PAC-12 representative to the Rose Bowl to not even be ranked.

Here are the complete rankings after Week 12:

1. Clemson Tigers (11-0) - 1.6
2. Alabama Crimson Tide (10-1) - 1.9
3. Baylor Bears (9-1) - 3.5
4. Navy Midshipmen (9-1) - 5.1
5. Ohio State Buckeyes (10-1) - 5.4
6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-1) - 5.5
7. Oklahoma Sooners (10-1) - 6.4
8. Stanford Cardinal (9-2) - 8.6
9. Iowa Hawkeyes (11-0) - 10.0
10. Michigan Wolverines (9-2) - 10.2
11. Michigan State Spartans (10-1) - 11.5
12. Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-1) - 11.8
13. Ole Miss Rebels (8-3) - 13.4
14. Florida Gators (10-1) - 14.0
15. Toledo Rockets (9-1) - 15.7
16. Florida State Seminoles (9-2) - 15.9
17. Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-3) - 16.5
18. TCU Horned Frogs (9-2) - 17.1
19. Tennessee Volunteers (7-4) - 18.0
20. Temple Owls (9-2) - 22.0
21. LSU Tigers (7-3) - 22.1
22. North Carolina Tar Heels (10-1) - 22.6
23. Oregon Ducks (8-3) - 23.7
24. Houston Cougars (10-1) - 24.2
25. Utah Utes (8-3) - 25.6
26. Northwestern Wildcats (9-2) - 25.9
27. Memphis Tigers (8-3) - 26.1
28. Arkansas Razorbacks (6-5) - 29.1
29. Bowling Green Falcons (8-3) - 30.0
30. USC Trojans (7-4) - 30.4
(tie) Wisconsin Badgers (8-3) - 30.4
32. Texas A&M Aggies (8-3) - 32.3
33. Appalachian State Mountaineers (8-2) - 33.9
34. Georgia Bulldogs (8-3) - 34.6
35. Pittsburgh Panthers (8-3) - 34.9
36. West Virginia Mountaineers (6-4) - 36.3
37. Marshall Thundering Herd (9-2) - 36.6
38. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (9-2) - 38.8
39. UCLA Bruins (8-3) - 39.3
40. Penn State Nittany Lions (7-4) - 39.9
41. California Golden Bears (6-5) - 40.3
42. BYU Cougars (8-3) - 41.1
43. Georgia Southern Eagles (7-3) - 44.4
44. Northern Illinois Huskies (8-3) - 44.8
45. San Diego State Aztecs (8-3) - 45.4
46. Texas Tech Red Raiders (6-5) - 46.6
47. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (8-3) - 47.8
48. NC State Wolfpack (7-4) - 48.2
49. Nebraska Cornhuskers (5-6) - 50.3
50. Air Force Falcons (8-3) - 50.6
51. South Florida Bulls (7-4) - 51.6
52. Washington State Cougars (8-3) - 51.9
53. Arizona State Sun Devils (6-5) - 52.0
54. Washington Huskies (5-6) - 53.0
55. Auburn Tigers (6-5) - 55.1
(tie) Southern Miss Golden Eagles (8-3) - 55.1
57. Miami Hurricanes (7-4) - 55.6
58. Cincinnati Bearcats (6-5) - 56.4
59. Central Michigan Chippewas (6-5) - 58.1
60. Virginia Tech Hokies (5-6) - 58.9
61. Western Michigan Broncos (6-5) - 60.4
62. Louisville Cardinals (6-5) - 60.9
63. Arkansas State Red Wolves (7-3) - 62.1
64. Boise State Broncos (7-4) - 62.5
65. Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-6) - 66.8
66. Missouri Tigers (5-6) - 68.1
67. Ohio Bobcats (7-4) - 68.2
68. Kansas State Wildcats (4-6) - 68.4
69. Illinois Fighting Illini (5-6) - 69.0
70. Texas Longhorns (4-6) - 70.3
71. Utah State Aggies (6-5) - 70.8
72. Indiana Hoosiers (5-6) - 72.9
73. Arizona Wildcats (6-6) - 73.2
74. Akron Zips (6-5) - 74.3
75. Duke Blue Devils (6-5) - 75.0
76. ECU Pirates (5-6) - 75.8
77. Iowa State Cyclones (3-8) - 76.7
78. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-8) - 77.0
79. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (6-5) - 77.1
80. Connecticut Huskies (6-5) - 77.5
81. Colorado State Rams (6-5) - 78.9
82. Kentucky Wildcats (5-6) - 83.0
83. Vanderbilt Commodores (4-7) - 83.4
84. Buffalo Bulls (5-6) - 83.6
85. Boston College Eagles (3-8) - 84.3
86. Virginia Cavaliers (4-7) - 85.0
87. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (5-6) - 88.2
88. Maryland Terrapins (2-9) - 88.4
89. Syracuse Orange (3-8) - 88.6
90. San Jose State Spartans (5-6) - 91.8
91. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-7) - 92.4
92. Purdue Boilermakers (2-9) - 92.6
93. Nevada Wolf Pack (6-5) - 94.2
94. Colorado Buffaloes (4-8) - 95.0
95. New Mexico Lobos (6-5) - 95.6
96. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (3-8) - 97.1
97. FIU Golden Panthers (5-7) - 97.3
98. UNLV Rebels (3-8) - 98.0
99. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-8) - 98.1
100. Kent State Golden Flashes (3-8) - 99.0
101. Troy Trojans (3-7) - 100.2
102. South Alabama Jaguars (5-5) - 102.0
103. Florida Atlantic Owls (2-9) - 102.9
104. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (4-6) - 103.5
105. Rice Owls (4-7) - 104.3
106. UTSA Roadrunners (4-8) - 106.7
107. Miami University RedHawks (3-9) - 106.8
108. Georgia State Panthers (4-6) - 107.2
109. Oregon State Beavers (2-9) - 108.2
110. Ball State Cardinals (3-8) - 109.0
111. Old Dominion Monarchs (5-6) - 111.1
112. Massachusetts Minutemen (2-9) - 111.6
113. New Mexico State Aggies (3-7) - 113.1
(tie) UTEP Miners (4-7) - 113.1
115. Fresno State Bulldogs (3-8) - 113.2
116. Idaho Vandals (3-8) - 114.0
117. Charlotte 49ers (2-9) - 116.9
118. Texas State Bobcats (2-7) - 118.9
119. Hawaii Warriors (2-10) - 120.0
120. Tulane Green Wave (3-8) - 120.1
121. SMU Mustangs (2-9) - 120.4
122. Army Black Knights (2-9) - 122.6
123. Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks (1-10) - 123.4
124. Eastern Michigan Eagles (1-10) - 123.7
(tie) Wyoming Cowboys (1-10) - 123.7
126. North Texas Mean Green (1-10) - 126.2
127. Kansas Jayhawks (0-11) - 127.5
128. UCF Knights (0-11) - 128.5