USA TODAY Sports' Paul Myerberg and Nicole Auerbach analyze Week 14 in college football and its impact on this week's Amway Coaches Poll.
The most important question under college football's former BCS formula was, "Who's No. 2?" In the dawn of the playoff era, the question now is, "Who's No. 4?"
The top three teams remained unchanged in the Amway Coaches Poll, with Alabama, Florida State and Oregon all recording victories in rivalry games heading into championship week.
It's the battle for No. 4 that will have pollsters and college football committee members debating right up until the playoff pairings are revealed a week from today.
TOP 25: Amway Coaches Poll
For now, the poll voters have TCU in the all-important fourth slot, 39 points ahead of No. 5 Baylor. While the coaches poll is not a direct component in the playoff process as it was in the BCS formula, it still provides an indicator of the way the committee might break things down if the Horned Frogs and Bears finish tied atop the Big 12 standings as they stand now with a week to go.
Whether TCU's stronger schedule or the Bears' head-to-head win against the Horned Frogs carries more weight will be the topic of much conversation in the next seven days.
As for the top three, Alabama retained 28 of 62 No. 1 votes after its big second half propelled it past Auburn in a high-scoring Iron Bowl. Florida State, with yet another narrow escape, overcame a plethora of mistakes to get past Florida and held on to 28 first-place votes. No. 3 Oregon, which handled Oregon State with ease in its Civil War showdown, held on to the other six No. 1 votes. All three of those teams will be in action next week in their respective conference title games.
Stock up: Arizona. The Wildcats did themselves the most good over the weekend. Their win against Territorial Cup rival Arizona State combined with UCLA's loss to Stanford earned them the Pac-12 South crown and another crack at Oregon. Arizona moved up four places to No. 8, and if they can beat the Ducks for a second time figure to be in the playoff conversation.
Stock down: Mississippi State. A 10-2 season would ordinarily have fans in Starkville dancing in the streets. But it ended with a loss at Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl showdown, and that all but ended the Bulldogs' chances to finish among the top four. They took a six-place tumble to No.10 in the poll.
Stock up: Missouri. The Tigers used a big second half to overtake a hot Arkansas team to earn a date with Alabama in the SEC title game. They gained four places in the poll to check in at No.13.
Stock down: Georgia. The Bulldogs had already been aced out of the SEC finale thanks to Missouri's win the day before, but their overtime loss to Georgia Tech rubbed salt in the wound. They dropped to No. 15 and now await their bowl destination. The Yellow Jackets, meanwhile, climbed to No. 12 on the eve of their showdown with Florida State in the ACC championship tilt.
Stock up: Wisconsin. Though No. 14 Ole Miss and No. 19 Clemson made the biggest moves of the week gaining five positions, it's the Badgers who still have potential for upward mobility. Their hard-fought win against Minnesota that clinched the Big Ten West and earned them a shot at No. 6 Ohio State next week helped them climb three places to No. 11. The voters were kind to the Golden Gophers, however, as they stayed in at No.25 after a solid 8-4 season.
Stock down: UCLA. The Bruins arguably were the hardest hit by the weekend's results, reflected in their seven-spot plunge to No.17. Riding high after throttling southern California, UCLA's decisive loss to Stanford cost them a berth in the Pac-12 final and ended any playoff consideration an upset of Oregon might have garnered.
New kids on the block: No. 23 Nebraska, No. 24 LSU.
College dropouts: Marshall, Colorado State.
GALLERY: AMWAY COACHES POLL
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