Post-Week Nine College Football Playoff Power Rankings

Wayne Gallman, Clemson

The Four

1 Alabama Crimson Tide 8-0 (5-0 SEC)
The Crimson Tide were off this week, getting plenty of rest before what could end up being their biggest tilt of the regular season. LSU-Alabama is always a fantastic battle, no matter what the state of either program. This year, it is even more intriguing when considering how dominant 'Bama has been, compared to how hot the Tigers have been recently. The Tide will also get an Iron Bowl battle with rising Auburn to worry about, but there is no reason to think that Alabama can't run the table, considering what they have done through the first two months of the season.

2 Clemson Tigers 8-0 (5-0 ACC)
Few places in college football are harder to walk in and get a victory than Tallahassee. Despite this, Clemson was able to walk into Florida State's house and come away with a close, exciting victory that left them as the clear-cut favorite to win the ACC. While the Tigers slow start to the season has left many questioning whether they are a legit National Title contender, their resume continues to improve with each passing week. With Louisville, Auburn and Florida State, Clemson now has three wins over teams in the AP Top 20 and the offense appears to have hit its stride behind Heisman candidate Deshaun Watson.

3 Michigan Wolverines 8-0 (5-0 Big Ten)
After losing seven of their last eight to hated in-state rival Michigan State, the Wolverines got some long-awaited vengeance this past weekend, rolling past MSU 32-23 on the road. The play of do-it-all defender Jabrill Peppers has been a major reason for UM's sustained success this season, and the junior has entered serious Heisman discussion after yet another impressive showing. Michigan continues to be the team to beat in the Big Ten, and looks to be in prime position to be 11-0 when they square off against bitter rival Ohio State, in a game that will not only hold importance because of bragging rights but also have a major impact on the Playoff race.

4 Washington Huskies 8-0 (5-0 Pac-12)
It was not very pretty, but Washington got perhaps their best win of the season this past Saturday against Utah in Salt Lake City, a very tough place to play. While it wasn't quite like Washington's dominant showings over Stanford and Oregon, it showed that the Huskies could take lumps and keep on fighting for 60 minutes and win. Also helping out Washington's case will be the play of Washington State, who was been wonderful since an 0-2 start. If the Cougars win out and UW can manage a victory in the Apple Cup, it could only add another win to the Huskies' relatively thin resume.

Four More in the Hunt

5 Louisville Cardinals 7-1 (5-1 ACC)
In more ways than one, Louisville looked flat against Virginia this weekend. The Cardinals were down late in the fourth quarter and a late score and two-point conversion by the Cavaliers looked like it would hand Louisville their second loss of the year and knock them out of Playoff consideration. Instead, Lamar Jackson led a thrilling late drive capped off by a terrific throw to beat the Cavs on the road. Despite the obvious struggles, Louisville did show plenty of resiliency, and the Selection Committee won't look at it very negatively. If Clemson does slip up, the Cardinals will be in very good position, even with that loss to the Tigers in early October.

6 Ohio State Buckeyes 7-1 (4-1 Big Ten)
Just one week after a stunning loss to unranked Penn State, the Buckeyes were once again pushed to the brink, this time by Northwestern. After early struggles, Northwestern does look a lot better and is a strong team, but it is still disheartening for Ohio State to struggle in the fashion they have as of late. The Buckeyes still have Nebraska this week, Michigan State on the road and then Michigan of course, and if the passing game doesn't get going in a big way, that could be a stretch knocking them out of the Playoff chase.

7 Wisconsin Badgers 6-2 (3-2 Big Ten)
No team has ever made the College Football Playoff with two losses, but don't count Wisconsin out just yet. The Badgers got a huge victory this weekend over Nebraska to add a huge win to their resume and also push them to the forefront of the Big Ten West race. Neither of their two losses were to bad teams (Michigan and Ohio State) and they were both close that could have legitimately gone either way. With that in mind, if the Badgers run the table and get a little bit of help, they could find themselves in the four-team field. That is obviously easier said then done, but with the way their defense has played all season long, it isn't completely improbable.

8 Texas A&M Aggies 7-1 (4-1 SEC)
While the SEC is Alabama's to lose, the Aggies aren't completely dead either. Texas A&M is 7-1 (with their only loss coming to the Tide 33-14) and they own a number of quality wins. Unfortunately, the strength of those wins is fading fast. Tennessee, their biggest win, is completely falling apart, and their second biggest victory, Arkansas, lost 56-3 to Auburn. Texas A&M will be cheering for LSU this weekend. A Tigers win would make them a possible Playoff threat, which would strength A&M's resume if they win on November 24th.

Others in the Mix
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Florida Gators
LSU Tigers
Western Michigan Broncos
Auburn Tigers
Oklahoma Sooners
West Virginia Mountaineers
Penn State Nittany Lions
Washington State Cougars