College Football Playoff Rankings 2018: Top 25 projections for Week 13

It is tempting to think that the College Football Playoff selection committee is going to drop the Cyclones completely out of their Top 25 this week after the road loss 24-10 at Texas. But there are some differences between this loss and the other times the committee has completely dropped teams ranked in the mid-teens this year.

It happened to Utah, who was No. 15 in the initial Top 25 of the season but dropped completely out after their 38-20 road loss to unranked Arizona State. The committee, it must be noted, reversed course and jumped them right back up to No. 19 the following week after the Utes took down Oregon. It also happened to No. 14 NC State the following week after they lost their rivalry game at home against Wake Forest, who was also unranked.

By contrast, Iowa State lost to a higher-ranked Texas team in Austin. The committee might be tempted to drop them out, but there is a weak group of teams left around to slide up in their place and they could easily throw Iowa State a bone. They will drop right above the cut line, but a team like Houston could also take this spot if the committee opts to reward another Group of Five team to replace Cincinnati.