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College Football Playoff rankings: Wisconsin jumps to No. 16 after win over Nebraska

After their historic takedown of the Huskers, the Badgers rose four spots in the latest Playoff rankings.

Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports

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