Pool's Poll Week 15: Buckeyes Dethrone LSU as I Drown in My Own Tears

There's a new number one in this poll as the Buckeyes throttled Michigan again, like it's not something they skip for a year. Honestly they could've made the playoffs with one loss, but noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, they had to embarrass the Wolverines for the eighth year in a row.

Meanwhile, the Iron Bowl actually lived up to the hype as the Crimson Tide were delivered another crushing blow. LSU and Clemson rolled to remain undefeated while Oklahoma, Georgia, Utah, and Baylor all positioned themselves for the number four spot. Of course Georgia/LSU and Oklahoma/Baylor will clear up some of this clutter with Utah needing a win in the PAC-12 Championship against Oregon to keep their hopes alive.

Championship week will also play a big role in a spot for the Cotton Bowl as Boise State, Appalachian State, and Memphis all hope to earn the top spot for the Group of 5 schools' at large bid.
The bottom half of the rankings has wrapped up and you can see those here, but the Akron Zips failed to step on the field against the mighty Ohio Bobcats to close out a winless 0-12 season.

Two championship games won't feature ranked teams as UAB (31) and FAU (28) clash for the CUSA crown while MACtion declares a winner when CMU (41) and Miami (63) square off in Detroit. Also over the weekend the amount of bowl eligible teams jumped to 80, which means two teams will be left in the cold this bowl season.

Here's a look at this week's rankings:

1.)Ohio State (12-0, 58.9 WP, 0 LP)

The Buckeyes won big and they'll probably do so against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship. The college football gods are cruel.

LWR: 2
Best Win: Penn State
Worst Loss: None
Last Week: 56-27 over Michigan
Up Next: Big Ten Championship vs. Wisconsin (10-2, No. 12)

2.)LSU (12-0, 61.7 WP, 0 LP)

Joe Burrow was a man on a mission as he torched the Texas A&M secondary and led the Tigers to a perfect SEC regular season. The Tigers should be in the College Football Playoffs even if they lose Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.

Last Week Rank: 1
Best Win: Alabama
Worst Loss: None
Last Week: 50-7 over Texas A&M
Up Next: SEC Championship vs. Georgia (11-1, No. 5)

3.)Clemson (12-0, 67.4 WP, 0 LP)

The Tigers now know their ACC Championship foe after a thriller between Virginia and Va Tech favored the Cavaliers for the first time since 2003. The two did not meet in the regular season, but only UNC gave Clemson any sort of scare this season.

LWR: 3
Best Win: Texas A&M
Worst Loss: None
Last Week: 38-3 over South Carolina
Up Next: Virginia (9-3, No. 26)

4.)Oklahoma (11-1, 62.4 WP, 45 LP)

The Sooners stock has been rising as they jump Georgia after a convincing win over rival Oklahoma State. The win was so convincing that they didn't even play the final 48 seconds. Now they have to prepare for a rematch with their toughest test this season in Baylor.

LWR: 5

Best Win: Baylor

Worst Loss: Kansas State

Last Week: 34-16 over OKST

Up Next: Baylor (11-1, No. 9)

5.)Georgia (11-1, 63.9 WP, 90 LP)

George Pickens took out the clean and settled for the Old Fashioned Hate against Georgia Tech as he was ejected for throwing punches and slamming a Yellow Jackets defender into a wall. He'll miss the first half against LSU next week.

LWR: 4
Best Win: Florida
Worst Loss: South Carolina
Last Week: 52-7 over Georgia Tech

Up Next: SEC Championship vs. LSU (12-0, No. 2)

6.)Utah(11-1, 67.6 WP, 36 LP)

The Utes have rattled off eight straight to win the PAC-12 South and set up a date with Oregon. A win their could mean their first appearance in the CFP.

LWR: 6
Best Win: Arizona State
Worst Loss: USC
Last Week: 45-15 over Colorado
Up Next: Oregon (10-2, No. 11)

7.)Boise State (11-1, 72.2 WP, 97 LP)

The Broncos had a tougher time with Colorado State than they'd have liked, but still got the job done and now wait for the Mountain West Championship.

LWR: 7

Best Win: Air Force

Worst Loss: BYU

Last Week: 31-24 over Colorado State

Up Next:Mountain West Championship vs. Hawai'i (9-4, No. 32)

8.)Memphis (11-1, 76.9 WP, 27 LP)

The Tigers had so much fun beating Cincinnati at home to clinch their half of the AAC, that they'll do it all over again next week, this time for the AAC Championship and potential bid in the Cotton Bowl.

LWR: 11

Best Win: Cincinnati
Worst Loss: Temple
Last Week: 34-24 over Cincinnati
Up Next: AAC Championship vs Cincinnati (10-2, No. 18)

9.)Baylor (11-1, 77.1 WP, 12 LP)

The Bears dismantled Kansas and now look to seek revenge against Oklahoma.

LWR: 7
Best Win: Kansas State
Worst Loss: Oklahoma
Last Week: 61-6 over Kansas
Up Next: Big 12 Championship vs. Oklahoma (11-1, No. 4)

10.)Appalachian State (11-1, 78.6 WP, 59 LP)

The Mountaineers blasted Troy to end the Trojans bowl dreams and will look to win their second straight Sun Belt Title.

LWR: 9

Best Win: North Carolina
Worst Loss: Georgia Southern
Last Week: 48-13 over Troy
Up Next: Sun Belt Championship vs. Louisiana (10-2, No. 21)

11.)Oregon (10-2, 59.4 WP, 47 LP)

The Ducks were slowed down by rival Oregon State in the Civil War, but they won for the third straight year and will face Utah in the PAC-12 Championship.

LWR: 14
Best Win: Washington
Worst Loss: Arizona State
Last Week: 24-10 over Oregon State

Up Next: PAC-12 Championship vs. Utah (11-1, No. 6)

12.)Wisconsin (10-2, 60.8 WP, 53 LP)

The Badgers snatched the axe back from Minnesota in a snowstorm and crushed the Gophers CFP and Big Ten dreams in the process. Wisconsin will need to be at their best or at least better than they were the last time they faced the Buckeyes.
LWR: 18
Best Win: Minnesota
Worst Loss: Illinois
Last Week: 38-17 over Minnesota
Up Next: Big Ten Championship vs. Ohio State (12-0, No. 1)

13.)Notre Dame (10-2, 61.5 WP, 24 LP)

The Irish got a big win over Stanford, but no one seemed to notice. Ten wins feels like a disappointment for a Notre Dame team with so many expectations.
LWR: 15
Best Win: Navy
Worst Loss: Michigan
Last Week: 45-24 over Stanford
Up Next: Bowl Game

14.)Penn State (10-2, 65.1 WP, 5 LP)

The Nittany Lions struggled early, but took care of Rutgers in the second half. Hopefully they have comfy seats to watch the Big Ten title game.

LWR: 16
Best Win: Iowa
Worst Loss: Minnesota
Last Week: 27-6 over Rutgers
Up Next: Bowl Game

15.)Air Force (10-2, 69.5 WP, 33 LP)

The Falcons scratched their way to a 20-6 win over Wyoming, but they were just one win away from playing for the Mountain West title.

LWR: 19

Best Win: Hawaii

Worst Loss: Navy
Last Week: 20-7 over Wyoming

Up Next: Bowl Game

16.)Florida (10-2, 74.2 WP, 14 LP)

The Gators took great pleasure in roughing up Florida State, but will have wait for their bowl to come.

LWR: 20
Best Win: Auburn
Worst Loss: Georgia
Last Week: 40-17 over FSU

Up Next: Bowl Game

17.)SMU(10-2, 76.1 WP, 19.5 LP)

The Mustangs avoided the close game and easily handled Tulane.

LWR: 21
Best Win: TCU
Worst Loss: Navy
Last Week: 37-20 over Tulane
Up Next: Bowl Game

18.)Cincinnati(10-2, 81.1 WP, 21.5 LP)

The Bearcats knew they were already in the AAC Championship, but their opponent was unknown. Now they know and it stings that they could have prevented this deja vu.

LWR:10
Best Win: UCF
Worst Loss: Memphis
Last Week: 34-24 loss to Memphis
Up Next: AAC Championship vs. Memphis (11-1,No.8)

19.)Minnesota (10-2, 87.2 WP,  32 LP)

The Gophers season ran out of magic, but they can still reach 11 wins for the first time in school history.

LWR: 12
Best Win: Penn State
Worst Loss: Iowa
Last Week: 38-17 loss to Wisconsin
Up Next: Bowl Game

20.)Alabama (10-2, 88.8 WP, 13.5 LP)

One of the craziest games of the season ultimately led to the demise of the Crimson Tide. It was War Eagle in the end and now Alabama will be watching from home.

LWR: 13
Best Win: Texas A&M
Worst Loss: Auburn
Last Week: 48-45 loss to Auburn

Up Next: Bowl Game

21.)Louisiana (10-2, 100.7 WP, 20 LP)

The Ragin' Cajuns might have been looking ahead to App State, because they needed a missed field goal by Louisiana Monroe to survive.

LWR: 22

Best Win: Georgia Southern

Worst Loss: Mississippi State

Last Week: 31-30 over ULM

Up Next: Sun Belt Championship: Appalachian State (11-1, No. 10)

22.)Navy (9-2, 77.8 WP, 21 LP)

Navy cruised in a shootout against Houston and will have two weeks to prepare for Army.

LWR: 23
Best Win: SMU
Worst Loss: Notre Dame
Last Week: 45-40 over Houston
Up Next: Army (12/14)

23.)Michigan (9-3, 62.3 WP, 7.3 LP)

Terrible.

LWR: 17
Best Win: Notre Dame
Worst Loss: Wisconsin
Last Week: 56-27 loss to Ohio State

Up Next: Bowl Game.

24.)Auburn (9-3, 64.4 WP, 9.7 LP)

The Tigers needed a miracle to stop Alabama, but they got another in this crazy series to stun Alabama.

LWR: 26

Best Win: Alabama

Worst Loss: Florida

Up Next: Bowl Game

25.)Iowa (9-3, 71.7 WP, 25.3 LP)

The Hawkeyes needed a game-winning field goal to make Nebraska miss a bowl spot for the third year.

LWR: 25

Best Win: Minnesota

Worst Loss: Michigan

Last Week: 27-24 over Nebraska

Up Next: Bowl Game

Dropped Out: Wake Forest

Next Ten: Virginia, UCF, FAU, San Diego State, La Tech, UAB,Hawai'i, USC, Wake Forest, Kansas State