With the advent of the College Football Playoff in 2014, we — the Elvii of college football — have joined together to present our weekly playoff nominations to keep the selection committee honest. We call it the T.C.B. Poll.

Playoff Rankings: Week 12

Each week, the T.C.B. Poll is an aggregate of all our inputs. Scroll down to see individual selections and opinions — this is how we’d like to see the College Football Playoff if we had to narrow the field *right now* to determine a national champion. Images courtesy The Helmet Project.

Rank	Team		Record	Weekly Change
1		Clemson	11-0	—
2		Alabama	10-1	+ 1
3		Notre Dame	10-1	+ 2
4		Iowa	11-0	+ 2

Also receiving votes: Michigan State.

TCB Committee Member Comments

@TheLSUElvis

1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Notre Dame
4. Iowa

@AuburnElvis ⚡

Well, I kept telling everyone Ohio State would pull a 2009-Florida and lose late… of course, I also said Texas A&M, LSU,and Auburn would win the SEC (but I NEVER picked Ole Miss, so I get points for that.)

1. SEC Champion (Bama) – I feel pretty good about this since even after an Iron Bowl loss, Bama will still win the West (suck it, Rebels) and probably the SEC.
2. B1G Champion (Michigan State) – Barring an Iowa championship (fingers crossed), it looks like Michigan State is back in the driver’s seat for a playoff birth.
3. Clemson – God, I hope the Tar Heels win.
4. Notre Dame – I think this is the year their “but look at how great our loss was” argument actually works. But if they fail to impress versus Stanford, the Big 12 Champ could jump the Irish.

@HawkeyeElvis ⚡⚡⚡

Wow. I really didn’t think the day would come when I could legitimately include my Iowa Hawkeyes in the TCB Top Four. But that day is here and I can’t wait to see how long we can keep it going. Gotta follow that dream.

1. Clemson – If Spurrier were still coaching I’d put Dabo on alert heading into Columbia, but I don’t think this year’s Gamecock squad is game for an upset.
2. Alabama – Will either Auburn or Florida put up any resistance to Darth Saban?
3. Iowa – A winnable game in Lincoln. A winnable contest against (probably) Sparty. Uncharted territory for the Hawks.
4. Notre Dame – Still have the best loss. But are Alabama’s wins really that much better than what the Irish have done?

That’s it. Have a great Turkey Day and I hope we are all winners this week.

@IrishElvis

Hawkeye Elvis (like his team) is on a roll; last week he correctly predicting the playoff committee’s top six teams, so that’ll earn him a couple TCBolts. Auburn Elvis correctly tabbed the four teams, so he gets one TCB lightning bolt. Now, if he can engineer some Iron Bowl shenanigans…

1. Clemson (47) – Other Tigers are going to have to defeat some Carolinas in the next couple weeks, but undefeated and solid scheduling indicate they’re on their way to the playoff.
2. Iowa (62) – Ohio State falls, and there’s a chance Hawkeye Elvis is on the sidelines of the playoff. (Cue “If I Can Dream…”)
3. Alabama (8) – Here come the one-loss teams. ‘Bama may end as #2, but Charleston Southern is not a good look, Tide.
4. Notre Dame (29) – Brilliant move by Under Armour to bring alternate uniforms for a game where they played like garbage (and won)…hopefully no one will recognize that green-clad team was Notre Dame.

Other one-loss teams (with schedule strength in parentheses) – OU (32), MSU (48) Okie State (49), Florida (52), Ohio State (61), UNC (68), Baylor (65), Navy (83).