5 with the best chance to enter the playoff of any team not already in the projected field.

It was the second straight victory over a ranked opponent for the Trojans, which now sit a Pac-12 Championship Game win over No.

Utah is the lone team to defeat USC this year, giving the Trojans a chance to overcome that negative data point head-to-head in the last week of the season.

The most notable tumbler in this week's rankings was LSU, which lost its third game of the season to a Texas A&M team team that entered with just four wins.

Losses by LSU, Clemson and Oregon sucked much of the drama out of the race for the CFP as the three undefeated teams at the top of the rankings -- Georgia, Michigan, TCU -- will be in the playoff, win or lose.

It's the Horned Frogs' opponent in the Big 12 Championship Game, Kansas State.

Also, among those three undefeated teams, TCU will be playing the highest-ranked team in its league title game.

The rankings are not only important for selecting the CFP participants as they often play a role in selecting teams for the New Year's Six games.

The rankings can be used to pick replacements for bowls that lose a conference champion to the CFP, and they also determine at-large spots.

For instance, Georgia's opponent in the SEC Championship Game, LSU, got hammered by the committee for its loss to moribund Texas A&M.

The SEC could have put four teams in the New Year's Six if the Tigers had defeated the Aggies