SMU made its first appearance in the CFP poll at No. 21 and the Mustangs control their own destiny. If SMU beats California this week and wins the ACC championship game the following week, the Mustangs are going back to the playoff.

The College Football Playoff rankings continue to hammer home just how imperfect this year's selection committee is. Head to head doesn't seem to matter. Schedule strength metrics only seem to mean anything if you played a team within the last few weeks thanks to ridiculous recency bias.

No. 14 Vanderbilt needs a win over No. 19 Tennessee in order to reach 10 wins for the first time in program history and have a shot at College Football Playoff inclusion. The game will also provide a perfect opportunity for Diego Pavia to make a compelling final case in the Heisman Trophy race.

Utah’s close call against Kansas State could undermine the Utes in the next College Football Playoff rankings.