Ten games that could bust the College Football Playoff bracket

The College Football Playoff Committee reveals their second set of rankings Tuesday night in advance of the December 7 playoff bracket that actually counts. Ranked No. 9 in the first CFP Poll, Oregon has a good chance of moving up to eighth this week after Utah lost at Texas Tech.

That one notch better puts them in the hunt for a home playoff game, which is good, the No. 8-seed faces No. 1 in the quarterfinal at a neutral site. The second hypothetical playoff bracket might look something like this one from Brett McMurphy of On3 Sports:

If the playoffs were today, Oregon would likely get a home game on December 21 against 7-2 Notre Dame, but this is November, which the weather is cold and the rivalries are fierce. Looking ahead to the Top 25 schedule over the next three weeks, there are at least fifteen games (the headline says ten, so as not to scare off the paying, clicking public) that could turn the entire bracket into chaos:

Week 12

10 Notre Dame (7-2) at 24 Pittsburgh (7-2)
12 Oklahoma (7-2) 4 Alabama (8-1)
14 Virginia (8-25) at Duke (5-4)
20 Iowa (6-3) at 19 USC (7-2)
11 Texas (7-2) at 5 Georgia (8-1)

Week 13

19 USC (7-2) at 9 Oregon (8-1)
15 Louisville (7-2) at SMU (7-3)
24 Pittsburgh (7-2) at 17 Georgia Tech (8-1)
22 Missouri (6-3) at 12 Oklahoma (7-2)

Week 14

5 Georgia (8-1) at 17 Georgia Tech (8-1)
3 Texas A&M (9-0) 11 Texas (7-2)
9 Oregon (8-1) at 23 Washington (6-3)
18 Miami (7-2) at 24 Pittsburgh (7-2)
1 Ohio State (9-0) at 21 Michigan (7-2)
4 Alabama (8-1) at Auburn (4-6)

Week 15, of course, is Championship Week, another invitation to chaos and reshuffling. The playoff field is certain to shrink and to change.

Though Oregon controls their destiny for a playoff spot, there's some pressure too as strength-of-record concerns dictate they probably have to win their three remaining games to secure a spot in the 12-team field, especially to get that coveted first-round home game.

This look at the contenders and the schedule doesn't even include the possibility of further upsets and more parity. Wisconsin, 3-6, ended No. 23 Washington's playoff hopes with a 13-10 upset victory on Saturday, the Badgers' first win against a Power Four opponent in 12 tries.

The Huskies are certain to drop out of the CFP Top 25 when the committee presents tonight.

Elimination games dot the schedule, and a college football never knows when a contest like TCU at BYU or Virginia at Duke might reduce the field. In the ACC and Big 12, infighting in the last weeks of the schedule threatens to reduce the conference to one bid, opening up more spots for the SEC and Big Ten.