Saturday saw three of the top four teams in the nation fall, putting the College Football Playoff committee in a tough spot when making Tuesday's rankings. An undefeated Alabama was the undisputed top team, but beyond the Tide, the committee had plenty of tough decisions to make, as the sport doesn't have the usual number of elite teams.
As is the case with any rankings, this week's order leaves plenty of room for debate. Here's my take on the committee's three biggest hits and three biggest misses from this week's standings.
Hit: Michigan at No. 3
With Michigan, Clemson and Washington all suffering their first losses of the season on Saturday, the debate becomes "Which loss is the most forgivable?" The argument could be made for Washington's loss to USC, now ranked at No. 13, but the Huskies were down by two scores at halftime at home against the Trojans. Michigan, however, lost on a last-second field goal to an Iowa team that has lost just one game by more than eight points this season (on the road against Penn State), and narrowly missed the playoff last season. The game was also in Iowa and at night, shifting the advantage to the Hawkeyes. Clemson's home loss to Pittsburgh is certainly a bad one, and Michigan's quality wins over Colorado, Penn State and Wisconsin are enough to warrant the No. 3 spot.
Miss: Western Michigan at No. 21
Come on now. I get it; the Broncos play a weak schedule compared to Power 5 teams. However, this is a season where there is a jumble of teams with two and three losses, while Western Michigan is the only team outside of Tuscaloosa with an unblemished record. Also, the Broncos have beaten two Big Ten opponents on the road this season, including Northwestern, a team with four conference wins that lost by just four in Columbus against Ohio State. The Broncos are ranked below five teams with three losses, including LSU, despite the fact that the Tigers haven't beaten any team in this week's rankings. The Broncos can only beat the teams on their schedule, and they deserve to be much higher than No. 21 in a season that lacks a clear elite class.
Hit: Wisconsin above all other two-loss teams
The Badgers stayed put at No. 7 after the chaotic weekend, remaining above all other teams with two losses. Wisconsin has the most quality losses of any of those teams, having fallen by a single touchdown against both Michigan and Ohio State, now two of the nation's top three teams. The Badgers also have quality wins, holding victories over LSU and Nebraska, and another over a Michigan State team before the wheels fell off for the Spartans. There's a whole mess of two-loss teams, some of which could sneak into the playoff if upsets continue, but there's no doubt Wisconsin should be at the top of that list.
Miss: Utah and USC over West Virginia
The Pac-12 and Big 12 are the two weakest Power 5 conferences this year (with the SEC not too far behind, or ahead depending on how you look at it), but the Pac-12 seems weaker, with heavyweights Stanford, Oregon and UCLA struggling to stay relevant at best. Utah's best win is over USC by four points at home, and the Utes have lost to 4-6 California and squandered an opportunity to earn a signature win over Washington at home. USC's resume is slightly better, but they're taking advantage of recency bias, as the Trojans haven't lost since September and have beaten Colorado and Washington since. However, USC still lost by 46 to Alabama and by 17 to a Stanford team that turned out to not be that good. On the other hand, West Virginia sits at 8-1 with road wins over Texas and Texas Tech and a home victory over Kansas State. We'll find out a lot more about the Mountaineers this Saturday when they take on Oklahoma and again in their season finale against Baylor, but it's hard to justify putting a two-loss Utah and a three-loss USC over a West Virginia team whose only loss came against No. 11 Oklahoma State on the road.
Hit: Clemson, then Louisville, then Washington
The argument can be made for Louisville to jump Clemson after the Tigers' loss to Pittsburgh, but let's not forget what happened at Memorial Stadium in October. Clemson also holds road wins over Auburn and Florida State, while Louisville's only win over a ranked opponent came over Florida State (though it was a domination). Washington doesn't have a true signature win, as Utah and Stanford are good, but not better than Florida State or Auburn. The Tigers deserve the final spot in the top four because of their win over Louisville in addition to their impressive road wins. Louisville gets the nod over Washington because of the way the Cardinals handled Florida State, and because the road loss to Clemson by six looks better than the Huskies' 13-point home loss to USC.
Miss: Washington State at No. 22
The start to the season wasn't pretty for the Cougars, losing to FCS Eastern Washington and Boise State, each by three points. Washington State has turned it around, however, winning seven straight conference games on the way to the driver's seat in the Pac-12 North. The Cougars have done it in dominating fashion, topping Stanford by 26 on the road, and beating another three conference opponents by at least 18 points, including a 69-7 win over Arizona. The Cougars will get opportunities to move up when they take on Colorado and Washington in the next two weeks, but they should already by higher than No. 22. Washington State is a different team than the one that lost its first two games, and deserves to be ahead of three-loss Tennessee and maybe some other teams like Nebraska, LSU and Auburn.