College football rankings: How Week 6’s Top 25 scores changed the Playoff picture

The College Football Playoff committee won’t unveil its first rankings of 2016 for a few more weeks, but we still have a good idea of how much these big games mean as we go along.

Below, the final scores for each game of Week 6 involving a team ranked in the AP Top 25, which is a good enough stand-in for the Playoff rankings at this point in the season.

This weekend includes four games between AP-ranked teams, another seven AP-ranked teams on the road, and a few big rivalries involving at least one Playoff contender.

Let’s sprint through scores, with notes on each that reflect what the Playoff committee will eventually consider.

The AP will wait to release its new poll until Tuesday, since Georgia and South Carolina are playing Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET, thanks to Hurricane Matthew.

No. 1 Alabama 49, No. 16 Arkansas 30

The Tide covered on the road against a likely bowl team. Next: Tennessee.

No. 2 Ohio State 38, Indiana 17

Likely a quality win by season’s end. OSU’s win over Oklahoma is also becoming promising again.

No. 3 Clemson 56, Boston College 10

Won’t count as a win over a quality opponent, but at least it looked nice. That win over Auburn also might be gaining some shine.

No. 4 Michigan 78, Rutgers 0

I didn’t think it’d be possible for anyone to impress anybody by beating Rutgers, but ... Michigan did it.

No. 5 Washington 70, Oregon 21

The Ducks probably aren’t gonna make a bowl, so this isn’t technically a win over a good team. But it’s still a total destruction on the road of a team that was, uh, recently good. The committee still might like it.

No. 8 Texas A&M 45, No. 9 Tennessee 38

The Aggies get a bye before Bama. That game might decide the SEC. Simple as that.

No. 23 Florida State 20, No. 10 Miami 19

Down goes another undefeated team. The ACC Coastal is wide open and could still produce a Playoff team, with a conference title game upset.

Navy 46, No. 6 Houston 40

The American Athletic Conference is now almost certainly out of the Playoff, and the race for the mid-major spot in the New Year’s Six just got super interesting.

No. 25 Virginia Tech 34, No. 17 North Carolina 3

A blowout road win that should hold up as a quality win, and the Hokies are in serious ACC contention.

LSU at No. 18 Florida, postponed and probably cancelled

If the Gators somehow make it to 10-1, a bunch of SEC coaches will be furious, because the rules say Florida can win the division if, say, Tennessee drops a couple games. The Playoff committee has previously not held cancelled cupcake games against Power 5 teams, and UF’s resume would still stack up well on paper, other than the somewhat ill-gotten division championship. (Obviously, this is not the most important story in the region this weekend, just a potential committee deliberation point.)

No. 19 Boise State 49, New Mexico 21

A dominant road win, possibly over a bowl team. BSU remains alive for New Year’s.

No. 20 Oklahoma 45, Texas 20

In the technical sense, should count as a decent win away from home for OU. But obviously there are more important things going on in Austin.

USC 21, No. 21 Colorado 17

No one would’ve predicted this could end up a decent win for the Trojans, but here we are! Winning the Pac-12 South isn’t out of the question yet.

No. 24 Utah 36, Arizona 23

The Utes survive and advance. This might not be a win over a bowl team, FWIW.

Washington State 42, No. 15 Stanford 16

Is ... is the Apple Cup gonna decide the Pac-12 North, only eight years after the legendary Crapple Cup? What a time.