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Wisconsin rode Melvin Gordon's historic outing to a 59-24 win over Nebraska on Saturday, and for that, the Badgers have been rewarded with another jump in the latest College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday night. The Badgers jumped four spots to No. 16, while Nebraska fell seven spots to No. 17.
For Wisconsin, the rankings are largely superfluous at this point. A team that lost to LSU and Northwestern almost assuredly won't make the four-team playoff, but it could earn a spot in one of the six New Year's Day bowls with a Big Ten championship.
That will take wins at Iowa and vs. No. 25 Minnesota in the remaining two regular-season games, plus a victory over whichever Big Ten East team reaches the conference championship. At this point, No. 6 Ohio State holds a one-game lead over No. 11 Michigan State in the East.
Elsewhere in the rankings, Alabama jumped four spots to No. 1 following its win over Mississippi State, which dropped out of the top spot to No. 4. Oregon and Florida State held steady at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, while TCU rounds out the top five after dropping one spot.
| Rank | Team | Last week | Week 12 result | Toughest opponent left (per F/+) | If the season ended today ... |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama (9-1) | 5 | Won 25-20 vs. No. 1 Mississippi State | Auburn | Sugar Bowl vs. Mississippi State |
| 2 | Oregon (9-1) | 2 | Idle | Oregon State | Rose Bowl vs. Florida State |
| 3 | Florida State (10-0) | 3 | Won 30-26 at Miami | Boston College | Rose Bowl vs. Oregon |
| 4 | Mississippi State (9-1) | 1 | Lost 25-20 at No. 5 Alabama | Ole Miss | Sugar Bowl vs. Alabama |
| 5 | TCU (9-1) | 4 | Won 34-30 at Kansas | Texas | New Year's bowl |
| 6 | Ohio State (9-1) | 8 | Won 31-24 at No. 25 Minnesota | Michigan | New Year's bowl |
| 7 | Baylor (8-1) | 7 | Idle | Kansas State | New Year's bowl |
| 8 | Ole Miss (8-2) | 10 | Idle | Mississippi State | Orange Bowl vs. Georgia Tech |
| 9 | UCLA (8-2) | 11 | Idle | USC | New Year's bowl |
| 10 | Georgia (8-2) | 15 | Won 34-7 vs. No. 9 Auburn | Georgia Tech | New Year's bowl |
| 11 | Michigan State (8-2) | 12 | Won 37-15 at Maryland | Penn State | New Year's bowl |
| 12 | Kansas State (7-2) | 13 | Idle | Baylor | |
| 13 | Arizona State (8-2) | 6 | Lost 35-27 at Oregon State | Arizona | |
| 14 | Auburn (7-3) | 9 | Lost 34-7 at No. 15 Georgia | Alabama | |
| 15 | Arizona (8-2) | 14 | Won 27-26 vs. Washington | Arizona State | |
| 16 | Wisconsin (8-2) | 20 | Won 59-24 vs. No. 16 Nebraska | Minnesota | |
| 17 | Utah (7-3) | 23 | Won 20-17 (2OT) at Stanford | Arizona | |
| 18 | Georgia Tech (9-2) | 22 | Won 28-6 vs. No. 19 Clemson | Georgia | Orange Bowl vs. Ole Miss |
| 19 | USC (7-3) | NR | Won 38-30 vs. Cal | UCLA | |
| 20 | Missouri (8-2) | NR | Won 34-27 at No. 24 Texas A&M | Arkansas | |
| 21 | Oklahoma (7-3) | NR | Won 42-30 at Texas Tech | Oklahoma State | |
| 22 | Clemson (7-3) | 19 | Lost 28-6 at No. 22 Georgia Tech | South Carolina | |
| 23 | Nebraska (8-2) | 16 | Lost 59-24 at No. 20 Wisconsin | Minnesota | |
| 24 | Louisville (7-3) | NR | Idle | Notre Dame | |
| 25 | Minnesota (7-3) | 25 | Lost 31-24 vs. No. 8 Ohio State | Wisconsin |