Another week, another huge matchup in the SEC as the Georgia Bulldogs avoided picking up a third loss and further muddied the SEC picture by handing the Tennessee Volunteers their second loss of the year.

That game had the biggest impact on the College Football Playoff picture, but further down the Top 25 rankings there was also some notable movement.

South Carolina and Arizona State pulled off victories over Missouri and Kansas State, while LSU also suffered its fourth loss of the year and third in a row in a 27-16 game on the road against Florida.

All of that meant plenty of shuffling for the Bleacher Report college football crew when it came to filling out this week's Top 25 ballot.

This week's panel included David Kenyon, Morgan Moriarty, Joel Reuter and Brad Shepard. A first-place vote was worth 25 points, a second-place vote worth 24 points and so on.

Top 25

B/R Top 25

1. Oregon
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Indiana
5. Penn State
6. Notre Dame
7. Georgia
8. Tennessee
9. Miami
10. Ole Miss
11. Alabama
12. BYU
13. SMU
14. Clemson
15. Boise State
16. Texas A&M
17. Colorado
18. Army
19. Tulane
20. Arizona State
21. South Carolina
22. Iowa State
23. Georgia Tech
24. Memphis
25. Washington State

Who's Hot: Arizona State and South Carolina with Late Surges to National Relevance

As the Big 12 and SEC continue to shuffle up their conference standings on a weekly basis, two unlikely teams have emerged from the rubble with unexpected national relevance.

South Carolina pulled out a 34-30 victory over Missouri on Saturday to improve to 7-3 on the year, and with that victory the Gamecocks have now won four conference games in a row, knocking off Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt prior to their Week 12 win.

Early losses to LSU, Ole Miss and Alabama left them 2-3 to begin conference play and made them little more than an afterthought, but now they have clawed their way into the AP poll while shaking things up along the way.

The improved play of quarterback LaNorris Sellers has been a major factor, and he had a career day on Saturday, throwing for 353 yards and five touchdowns. He now has 10 touchdowns and only one interception during the team's four-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, the Big 12 has been a revolving door all season, and Arizona State has emerged as a legitimate threat to stake claim to a spot in the conference title game.

The Sun Devils improved to 5-2 in conference play with a win over No. 16 Kansas State on Saturday night, including a 5-1 record in their last six games, with a win over then-No. 16 Utah also on the resume.

Sam Leavitt threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns in the 24-14 victory over the Wildcats. The Arizona State defense forced three turnovers, while the offense dominated time of possession by a 36:24 to 23:36 margin.

After back-to-back 3-9 seasons, the Sun Devils are on the doorstep of being ranked in the AP poll for the first time since the 2021 season.

Who's Not: Tennessee No Longer Controls Its Own Fate in the SEC Race

There were nine SEC teams among the Top 25 in the latest playoff rankings, and as the season winds to a close, that list was bound to shrink as more contending teams picked up their third loss of the season.

However, it was Tennessee joining the list of two-loss teams that was the big story in Week 12, as the Volunteers fell 31-17 against Georgia in Athens and in the process squandered a potential clear path to the SEC title game.

Texas and Texas A&M are now the final one-loss teams in the SEC standings, and they are on a collision course in the regular season finale on Nov. 30, so winning out would have essentially guaranteed Tennessee a shot at clinching an automatic bid to the playoffs.

Now they join Alabama, Ole Miss and the Bulldogs team that just beat them to hope the tie-breakers fall in their favor to secure a spot alongside the winner of Texas vs. Texas A&M.

Going one step further, it also pushes them to a precarious position on the playoff bubble.

The Volunteers had won four in a row to climb to No. 7 in the latest college football rankings, with Alabama, Ole Miss and Georgia checking in at No. 10, 11 and 12. However, the Bulldogs were technically on the outside looking in, with No. 13 Boise State securing an automatic bid as the fifth-ranked conference champion.

Does Tennessee now slip to the bottom of that group?

We'll find out on Tuesday, but no team's playoff hopes took a bigger hit on Saturday than the Volunteers.

What's Next

Upstart Indiana improved to 10-0 with a victory over Michigan in Week 11, and after a bye in Week 12, they are now set to face their toughest test of the season by a wide margin on the road against Ohio State.

A loss could push the Hoosiers to the fringe of the playoff picture given their lack of quality wins, while a win would line them up for a meeting with Oregon in the Big Ten championship game with a shot at a first-round bye up for grabs in the playoffs.

The Buckeyes only loss this season came to No. 1 Oregon, and they have looked every bit the part of a national championship contender in their own right this season. This will be an opportunity to flex their muscles and cement the fact that they are one of the nation's elite.

Outside of that huge Big Ten clash, the other big matchup of ranked opponents will pit Group of Five playoff hopeful Army against a one-loss Notre Dame team trying to stay comfortably in the playoff field.

The SEC shifts out of the spotlight for at least one week with no marquee matchup on deck, though Alabama (at Oklahoma), Ole Miss (at Florida), Texas A&M (at Auburn) and Missouri (at Mississippi State) will all be playing on the road. There is a good chance at least one of those ranked teams will suffer an upset, as road games in the SEC are always tough, no matter the opponent.

A tough road test for BYU against Arizona State is the most compelling matchup in the Big 12 in Week 13, and with six teams still realistically in the running for a spot in the conference championship game when Week 12 action began, there is still a lot to be sorted out up and down the standings.

A loss by previously undefeated Miami in Week 12 opened the door in the ACC, and while the Hurricanes still sit second in the conference standings behind undefeated SMU, there is now a potential path for Pitt or Louisville who both have two losses in conference play. Those two will go head-to-head in Week 13, in what amounts to an elimination game for the loser.

The Group of Five slate is headlined by UNLV at San Jose State and Western Kentucky at Liberty, though everyone is still chasing Boise State for the automatic bid in the playoff field. The Broncos will be on the road against Wyoming next weekend.

The de-facto Pac-12 title game will also be played on Saturday between Washington State and Oregon State, as the two teams left standing in the gutted conference go head-to-head after spending the "conference" season facing off against Mountain West foes.

If you're looking for some gaudy individual performances, Tennessee (vs. UTEP), Georgia (vs. UMass), Clemson (vs. The Citadel) and South Carolina (vs. Wofford) all have cupcake games on the horizon in Week 13.

See you all next weekend!