The penultimate College Football Playoff rankings are out and we are less than one week away from the reveal of the very first 12-team CFP bracket. On Friday and Saturday, some teams will battle for a conference championship and an automatic bid into the field while others wait at home and hope the dominoes fall their way.

During the final weekend of the regular season, both Alabama and Ole Miss steadied themselves with rivalry wins after taking stunning losses the week before. South Carolina cemented its status as one of the hottest teams in college football with a 17-14 win in Death Valley against Clemson. Texas assured its place in the field with a dominant defensive performance in College Station against Texas A&M.

On the other end of the spectrum, Ohio State made mistake after mistake in yet another loss to Michigan in one of the most baffling upsets of the season. Miami (FL) took its fate out of its own hands when it blew a 21-0 lead in a 42-38 loss to Syracuse. These upsets gave the selection committee some very interesting decisions before championship Saturday.

Here are the CFP committee's full rankings after the regular season concluded.

  1. Oregon (12-0)
  2. Texas (11-1)
  3. Penn State (11-1)
  4. Notre Dame (11-1)
  5. Georgia (10-2)
  6. Ohio State (10-2)
  7. Tennessee (10-2)
  8. SMU (11-1)
  9. Indiana (11-1)
  10. Boise State (11-1)
  11. Alabama (9-3)
  12. Miami (FL) (10-2)
  13. Ole Miss (9-3)
  14. South Carolina (9-3)
  15. Arizona State (10-2)
  16. Iowa State (10-2)
  17. Clemson (9-3)
  18. BYU (10-2)
  19. Missouri (9-3)
  20. UNLV (10-2)
  21. Illinois (9-3)
  22. Syracuse (9-3)
  23. Colorado (9-3)
  24. Army (10-1)
  25. Memphis (10-2)

Of course, the most consequential part of these rankings was always going to be where Miami ended up compared to the three 3-loss SEC teams in the top 15, and Hurricanes fans won't like the answer. After a shocking loss to Syracuse, Miami dropped all the way to No. 12, one spot below Alabama. When you account for the eventual Big 12 Champion (No. 15 Arizona State or No. 16 Iowa State), Miami is on the outside looking in and Alabama is in pole position for the final at-large spot.

After the rankings were revealed, CFP chair Warde Manuel said that teams who are not playing on championship weekend will not be moved up or down relative to other teams who are not playing. If that holds true, teams like Miami, Ole Miss and South Carolina are out of luck.

The one domino that can still change things up is Clemson. Dabo Swinney's group dropped five spots to No. 17 after losing to South Carolina, but it can still grab an automatic bid if it beats No. 8 SMU in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday night. In that case, SMU would still have a strong argument to stay in the field and keep Alabama on the outs.

Elsewhere, Oregon and Penn State will battle for a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff in Indianapolis and Georgia and Texas will fight for the SEC title and a bye in Atlanta. Boise State and UNLV will play a pseudo-playoff game on Friday night on the blue turf.