When trying to project the changes in the college football rankings after Week 10, it's impossible to notice the impact that Notre Dame has on the entire landscape of the top 25.
Michigan State is set to make one of the biggest jumps in the AP poll this week after knocking off Penn State, ending up as one of the country's top two loss teams -- one of those losses coming to Notre Dame. The Irish are going to be one of the top one-loss teams in the country not just because they rolled up 700 yards of offense against Wake Forest, but because that one loss came against Georgia, one of the country's last undefeated teams. Yet at the end of the day, will Notre Dame end up at the top of rankings in college football?
For now, Michigan State's "quality loss" against Notre Dame combines with an actual quality win against Penn State to sent the Spartans shooting up the rankings and setting up a huge game against Ohio State for the Big Ten East next week in Columbus.
1. Alabama (Previous -- 1): The Tide took care of business, and even though they looked human -- maybe for the first time all season -- I don't think they'll lose their spot at the top of the AP poll. It is likely that they'll lose some first-place votes to Georgia, due to a combination of Saturday night's close win against LSU and AP voters following the College Football Playoff Selection Committee's lead. Still, I think Alabama has more first-place votes and keeps the top spot.
2. Georgia (2): After a gentlemanly three-hour game against South Carolina, the Bulldogs are 9-0 for the first time since 1982. Jake Fromm was tested and required to throw the ball more than usual, and since he limited the mistakes and guided the Bulldogs to a win, it's another step forward in his development as a championship caliber quarterback. Hanging tough against South Carolina at home is one thing, but Auburn in Jordan-Hare Stadium presents a totally different challenge.
3. Notre Dame (5): The Irish look like the real deal. It's probably a disservice to this Notre Dame team to have to wait until early November to fully commit to its championship caliber, but in the three wins since the bye week (USC, NC State, Wake Forest) the Irish have shown a dynamic offense -- more than 700 yards against the Demon Deacons on Saturday -- and a defense that step up with turnovers and game-changing plays.
4. Wisconsin (3): While the rest of the Big Ten fell apart, the Badgers not only remained unbeaten but dominated their opponent in a 45-17 win at Indiana.
5. Clemson (6): A loss at NC State would have been devastating. The Tigers would have not only fallen back in the rankings but potentially lost a chance to even play for the conference championship because of falling two games back in the ACC Atlantic Division standings. Coming out of halftime facing a deficit, Clemson's defense dominated down the stretch starting with holding NC State to just 46 yards of offense in the third quarter. Kelly Bryant then got it rolling with the ground game and Clemson kept its title hopes alive.
6. Oklahoma (7): Baker Mayfield is going to go down as one of the most dynamic players in college football history. He's provided fans with dozens of incredible highlights and infused his entire career with a spark of confidence that's can't be replicated. A two-time Heisman finalist already, Mayfield might have secured a spot in New York with 598 yards and five touchdowns in his third-straight win against rival Oklahoma State.
7. Miami (9): The hype train for next week's game against Notre Dame is reaching supersonic speeds after Miami notched its first quality win of the season against Virginia Tech. While there are certainly ton of ranking-related implications, the real key is that now Miami has an in-road to win the ACC Coastal Division and play for the ACC Championship for the first time in program history.
8. TCU (10): The Horned Frogs are allowing an average of 12.5 points per game in Big 12, and that total includes back-and-forth wins against Oklahoma State and West Virginia. When Kenny Hill and the offense take care of the ball, TCU wins. That'll be the recipe again next week against the red-hot Baker Mayfield in a potential preview of the Big 12 title game.
9. Washington (12): The Huskies absolutely blasted Oregon. The best highlight was Dante Pettis setting a new NCAA record for punt return touchdowns, and the biggest takeaway is that Washington appears to be in top shape heading into the final games of its Pac-12 title push.
10. Ohio State (3): Urban Meyer was not verbose when asked if he had any good explanations for the Buckeyes getting blown out of the building at Iowa. We know Ohio State has one of the most talented rosters in the country, but the inability to execute in a trap spot between Penn State and Michigan State has derailed a seemingly open road to the Big Ten title and a College Football Playoff spot.
11. Michigan State (24): Suddenly, Michigan State is in the thick of the Big Ten title race. Sparty is set for a jump now that it's only losses are to Notre Dame and Northwestern and its best wins are against Penn State and Michigan. A win next week against the Buckeyes would likely put Michigan State in the Big Ten title game and given the way both teams played in Week 10 it doesn't seem like a stretch to think Michigan State can back up Saturday's win with an even bigger one in next week in Columbus.
12. Auburn (16): It feels like Auburn's been a different team every week, and sometimes a different team even from quarter-to-quarter within the same game. The best version of Auburn is when Kerryon Johnson is bruising his way through defenses and the Tigers defensive line is applying relentless pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
13. Penn State (7): Life as a national power is still new to Penn State, and James Franklin said that the Nittany Lions haven't handled the "noise" well this season. There's no doubt the extended weather delay played a role in the loss, but so did the mistakes made on the field in the form of critical penalties and turnovers.
14. Oklahoma State (11): Head-to-head losses against both TCU and Oklahoma have placed the Cowboys on the outside of the competition for the two spots in the Big 12 championship game. Oklahoma State is set to drop in the rankings, and while there are chances to finish as a top-25 team with double-digit wins, the biggest goals they had in Stillwater likely faded away with the rivalry loss.
15. UCF (15): The Knights are really hurt by their competition, as AP voters are not likely to be wowed enough by a close win against SMU to give Scott Frost's group a big jump in the rankings.
16. Virginia Tech (13): The Hokies defense did a good job of forcing turnovers and keeping them in the game at Miami, but this season the offense has struggled against elite defenses (Miami, Clemson). Still a top-25 team? Definitely. Just not one that's going to be in the mix for a playoff spot after falling behind in the ACC title race.
17. USC (17): There have been stretches of inconsistent play from Sam Darnold this year, but in the fourth quarter against Arizona, the USC quarterback put it all on display as he kept the Trojans' Pac-12 title hopes alive by out-dueling Khalil Tate down the stretch.
18. Mississippi State (21): The Bulldogs might have been looking ahead to next week's visit from Alabama, or maybe it was the early and rainy start that made Saturday's win against UMass more of a struggle than it should have been. Either way, avoiding the bad loss keeps Mississippi State in the rankings heading into next week's showdown with the Tide.
19. Washington State (25): Really strong rebound performance from the Cougars and in particular for Luke Falk. A week after getting benched, Falk bounced back with 337 yards and three touchdowns in a 24-21 win against Stanford.
20. LSU (19): Saturday night's performance against Alabama was strong, but the Tigers had no margin for error and made one too many mistakes to capitalize on the opportunity to steal a win in the rivalry. LSU might take a slight step back as a three-loss team, but if they can keep playing at a high level it wouldn't be a surprise to see this team win out and finish the regular season 9-3.
21. Memphis (22): Riley Ferguson threw four touchdown passes in a dominant win at Tulsa and Memphis now returns home for two winnable games that could put the Tigers in the conversation for a New Year's Six bowl bid.
22. South Florida (NR): The Bulls were quick to get bounced from the top 25 after losing to Houston, but it won't take much to slide back in after showing up as one of the top teams in "Others Receiving Votes" last week.
23. Michigan (NR): Brandon Peters didn't need to be dominant in order for Michigan's offense to get rolling again. The last two weeks have shown that he's certainly an upgrade from John O'Korn and likely going to be the guy moving forward in Ann Arbor.
24. West Virginia (NR): It's amazing how much better West Virginia's offense looks when Justin Crawford is running the ball well. I think Saturday's win against Iowa State sneaks West Virginia in just ahead of the Cyclones but they could end up falling a few points short in "Others Receiving Votes."
25. Iowa State (14): The dream season hasn't been totally derailed for Iowa State. The Cyclones can still bounce back and fight for a spot in the Big 12 title game thanks to their head-to-head wins against Oklahoma and TCU.
Projected to drop out: Stanford (18), NC State (20), Arizona (22)