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Amway College Football Poll 2018: Complete Week 12 Rankings Revealed

Timothy Rapp

None of the Top 10 teams in last week's edition of the Amway Coaches Poll lost in Week 11, though there were a few close calls. So, did any teams shuffle position in the Week 12 poll, or did chalk hold?

Below, we'll answer that question and review some of the top storylines from the weekend.

           

Rankings

1. Alabama

2. Clemson

3. Notre Dame

4. Michigan

5. Georgia

6. Oklahoma

7. West Virginia

8. Ohio State

9. Washington State

10. LSU

11. UCF

12. Syracuse

13. Utah State

14. Texas

15. Penn State

16. Florida

17. Washington

18. Iowa State

19. Utah 

20. Cincinnati 

21. Kentucky 

22. Boston College

23. Mississippi State

24. Boise State

25. UAB

               

Analysis

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Alabama remained undefeated over the weekend, and the Crimson Tide's 24-0 defeat of Mississippi State also guaranteed that the team's 10-game streak of winning by 20 or more points remained intact. It was the team's second straight shutout win, both coming against ranked opponents. 

"I think in this day and age, you not only get judged on whether you win but you get judged on how you win," head coach Nick Saban said after the game, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN.com). "I never thought I'd ever be in position to say that you get style points but the way our system is, that may be the way it is."

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The Tide's defense has contributed the style points in the last two weeks, stifling two talented SEC opponents in LSU and Mississippi State. If there's any doubt about their place atop the rankings, it's unfounded. 

Clemson and Notre Dame both remained undefeated over the weekend, making the top three a fairly obvious choice for voters.

But after that is where things remain jumbled. Michigan blew out Rutgers, 42-7, while Georgia beat a tougher foe in Auburn, 27-10, keeping its national championship hopes alive.

"We knew what was at stake," running back D'Andre Swift, who rushed for 186 yards and a score in the win, told reporters (h/t ESPN.com). "We were playing for a lot more than they were playing for, so we didn't want them to mess up our future."

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Alabama and Georgia are already locked into place for the SEC title game, but the Bulldogs cannot afford to slip up before then if they hope to remain in the playoff picture.

Neither can the teams nipping on their heels. 

Oklahoma nearly lost the plot, surviving rivals Oklahoma State, 48-47, after the Cowboys failed to convert a two-point conversion that would have put them ahead with just over a minute remaining.

"As bad as we played on defense, coming out with a 'W' is all that matters," linebacker Curtis Bolton said, per the AP (h/t ESPN.com). "You can play good defense and lose a game, and it doesn't matter that you played good defense. It matters that you lost the game. So even if you're playing bad defense, we played good when it counted and came out with a 'W,' and at the end of the day, that's what matters."

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The win kept Oklahoma in the playoff conversation. Washington State and West Virginia remained on the periphery of the conversation as well with victories Saturday, while two-loss LSU—a pretty dramatic long shot at this point—beat a struggling Arkansas side by only a touchdown.

And then there was Ohio State, who began its quest to ascend the rankings with a 26-6 win over Michigan State. In two weeks, it'll have a showdown with Michigan. Win that, and a place in the Big Ten title game will be secured.

Win that as well, and the Buckeyes will have inserted themselves right back into the national championship conversation. 

The stakes at this point in the season are huge all around college football, and Week 12 will feature its own share of intriguing matchups, highlighted by Notre Dame hosting Syracuse and Iowa State taking on Texas. It isn't the most tantalizing of slates, though such weeks are often when the biggest upsets unfold. 

   

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