The bottom matters
The committee has a history and a tendency to not be as particular with the bottom of the rankings than it is at the top. The best evidence of this is Appalachian State. The Mountaineers are having a strong season, but have nothing anywhere near a Playoff resume. Their best win is 4-7 South Carolina (maybe Louisiana is better, barely). They have an awful strength of schedule and a bad loss. It was a mistake to put Appalachian State in last week, and that mistake was repeated this week.
As I said a few times this week, there is a huge gap between the top 17 teams and the bottom eight. 17 teams have clearly locked themselves into their top spots in the rankings. Who makes their way into the bottom will matter, though, and can seriously influence the rankings at the top.
No ACC teams made their way into the bottom of the rankings, though Pitt, Virginia, and Virginia Tech can’t be far off. One Pac 12 team did, which is big for Oregon’s and Utah’s resumes. If Washington can also work its way into the Top 25 by season’s end, it would be a strong point for both of those top Pac 12 teams. Then again, with the upcoming AAC schedule, it is possible that only one additional spot opens up as the year goes on. ACC and Pac 12 teams are going to be rooting against Appalachian State and Boise State moving forward, because someone likely needs to drop out to let new teams in.