The 13-member selection committee will compose its penultimate ranking Tuesday with the bulk of contenders having completed their regular seasons, which means any big rises or drops will reveal how the league title games might complete the puzzle.
And there will be movement this week -- starting at the top.
There was no bigger impact than Ohio State's shocking home loss to unranked Michigan, but Miami's loss to Syracuse catapulted Clemson into the ACC championship game, and Clemson's loss to South Carolina boosted the Gamecocks' résumé.
Was South Carolina's win enough to overcome head-to-head losses to Alabama and Ole Miss? Were there enough upsets to help three-loss Alabama? How far will Ohio State and Miami fall?
Here's a look at the weekly prediction of what the top 25 might look like Tuesday. Remember, this is NOT a projection of what it will look like on Selection Day (that's coming next week). This remains a snapshot of who's in the driver's seat now, based on what they have done to this point and how the committee has already evaluated them.
The 12-team playoff seeding will look different from the ranking and is also listed below. Remember, the top four highest-ranked conference champions receive byes, and the top five conference champions receive entry into the field.