Winners and Losers: Will Saturday's string of upsets shake up CFP rankings that much?

It’s hard to get the top of the college football heap and even harder to stay there.

Clemson, Michigan and Washington found that out Saturday as all three took their first losses of the season during the most turbulent college football Saturday in more than 30 years.

Clemson lost on a last-second field goal to Pittsburgh; Michigan lost on a last-second field goal to Iowa; and Washington was more or less dominated by a resurgent USC team.

Overall, five teams ranked in the top 10 of the College Football Playoff rankings fell and eight teams lost in the Top 25.

While Week 11 was devastating to fans of the teams that lost, the polls might not reflect the gruesome nature of the weekend. Alabama, which defeated Mississippi State 51-3 will stay at the top. Clemson, Michigan and Washington all have one loss and one-loss teams are actually in short supply in the Top 25. The only other one-loss teams within striking distance are Ohio State and Louisville. West Virginia has one loss but is languishing at No. 16. Western Michigan is unbeaten and Boise State has one loss, but their schedules don’t stack up to those of their Power Five conference brethren.

It’s probably safe to assume a two-loss team won’t jump a one-loss team. So that leaves a pool of Clemson, Michigan, Washington, Ohio State and Louisville to fill the three spots below Alabama. Of the three top four teams that lost, Washington was the only team that was thoroughly beaten. Even though Washington was the only one of the group to play a ranked team, its strength of schedule had been questioned in the past and that will probably come up again when compared to the other one-loss teams.

Clemson lost at home to a Pitt team that gained bowl eligibility with the win; same thing with Michigan only on the road. Both losses came on similar plays. Meanwhile, Ohio State and Louisville had convincing wins against weaker teams. The only problem for Louisville is that its one loss came to Clemson. If head-to-head is a variable, the committee can’t justify placing the Cardinals above the Tigers if all other things are relatively equal.

What’s great about this problem is that it’s this week’s problem. As we’ve already seen in the first two weeks of the CFP rankings, nothing is etched in stone and this week’s top four probably won’t be next week’s top four or the top four that ultimately makes the playoff. That should give some hope to teams such as Wisconsin and Penn State, the only other teams in the top 10 that won. Those two teams could be a on a collision course to play for a Big Ten title with the winner securing the league’s spot in the CFP. And, as crazy as it might sound, don’t count out Oklahoma or even Colorado. Remember, Oklahoma was No. 15 when the CFP rankings were first released last year and made the playoff.

With three weeks remaining, anything is possible.

WINNERS

Navy: In a meeting with Tulsa for first place in the AAC West division, Navy came out on top 42-40 and extended its home winning streak to 15. That number is now tops in the nation after Clemson’s loss to Pitt. Quarterback Will Worth continued to impress with 122 rushing yards and four total touchdowns including three on the ground.

Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee: With his two rushing touchdowns vs. Kentucky, Joshua Dobbs set the Tennessee record for rushing TDs by a QB with 27. In all, Dobbs racked up five total touchdowns in the 49-36 victory over the Wildcats. The Vols senior finished with 370 total yards with 223 passing and 147 rushing.

UCF: After finishing 0-12 last year, Central Florida has undergone a remarkable turnaround in Year 1 under Scott Frost. On Saturday, the Knights beat Cincinnati 24-3 to improve to 6-4 on the season and are now bowl-eligible. Part of UCF’s resurgence this season can be attributed to its improved defense, which came up with three turnovers and five sacks vs. the Bearcats and has allowed a combined nine points in the last two weeks.

Idaho: Idaho trounced Texas State 47-14 for its sixth win of the season to become bowl eligible for the first time in eight years. Things were close early, but the Vandals turned up the heat for the final three quarters to go on a 33-point run while stifling the Bobcats’ offense. A bowl game should be a nice parting gift as Idaho makes its way back to the FCS level in 2018.

ODU: Old Dominion improved to 7-3 overall and 5-1 in Conference USA play with a 51-35 win over Southern Miss on Saturday. ODU, which forced five turnovers in the win, had its lead grow as large as 42-7 in the third quarter. The Monarchs, in their third year at the FBS level, are headed for their first bowl game and sit in second place in the C-USA East.

Troy: With a 28-24 win over Appalachian State, Troy improved to 8-1 overall and remained unbeaten in Sun Belt play. Jordan Chunn ran for 129 yards and two scores, including the go-ahead TD with 1:02 to go. Troy’s only loss this season is a 30-24 decision to Clemson. Since then, the Trojans have won seven in a row. The win sets up a home Fun Belt showdown on Thursday night with Arkansas State, which is also unbeaten in conference play.

Bonus Winner:

LOSERS

Wyoming: The Cowboys’ dream season got a little less dreamy with a three-overtime loss to UNLV. Wyoming lost 69-66 after UNLV got a second crack at a game-winning field goal in the third overtime.

The loss drops the Cowboys to 7-3 and 5-1 in the Mountain West. But thanks to a win over Boise State, Wyoming still controls its own destiny in the Mountain Division. It just can’t afford to have another loss.

Oregon: The decision to hire former Michigan coach Brady Hoke as the Ducks’ defensive coordinator is not turning out well. And it could end up costing Hoke and coach Mark Helfrich their jobs.

Oregon fell 52-27 to Stanford on Saturday as Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey finally had the game we were expecting. McCaffrey ran for 135 yards and three scores on just 17 carries against the maligned Oregon defense, a squad that would have a hard time containing 11 flightless ducks this season.

The loss also eliminated Oregon from bowl contention as it fell to 3-7. It’ll be the first time Oregon hasn’t gone to a bowl since 2004.

Arkansas: There would be no third-straight win over LSU for the Razorbacks. Arkansas was pummeled 38-10 at home Saturday night. The recipe for disaster was a familiar one for the Razorbacks too. LSU ran 51 times for 390 yards. It was the third time an SEC team had run for over 300 yards on Arkansas this season.

Running back Derrius Guice was the ringleader as RB Leonard Fournette struggled with that lingering ankle injury. Guice had 21 carries for 252 yards while Fournette “only” had 98 yards and three touchdowns.

Mount Union: The Division III Raiders’ winning streak is over. John Carroll defeated Mount Union 31-28 on Saturday, snapping Mount Union’s 112-game regular season win streak dating back to 2005. The win also clinched John Carroll the Ohio Athletic Conference title, the first time a team other than Mount Union has won the championship since 1994

Boston College: It was a really bad night for Boston College as the Eagles lost 45-7 to Florida State on Friday. It was so bad that former coach Jeff Jagodzinski apparently ripped the team on Twitter. He had this to say during the game.

Jagodzinski was 20-8 in two seasons from 2007-08 at Boston College but got fired after he interviewed for NFL coaching positions against the school’s athletic director’s wishes. Since then he’s coached for four teams and currently serves as an assistant coach for Georgia State.

Rutgers: Not only did Rutgers grant Michigan State the privilege of a Big Ten win, it got stampeded. The Spartans won 49-0 and dropped the Scarlet Knights to 2-8 and 0-7 in the Big Ten.

Getting stampeded is nothing new for Rutgers this season. It’s been outscored a combined 185-0 in losses to Michigan State, Michigan and Ohio State. Yes, that is not a typo. It’s been that bad. Maybe the bright side is that Michigan State fans don’t get to feast on steak in Rutgers’ memory this week?