The new college football rankings will start to roll out on Sunday with the Coaches Poll and AP Top 25, but fans are coming out of Week 9 with an eye on the release of the first College Football Playoff Rankings on Tuesday. The order is sure to change throughout the next month of action, but Saturday's top-five shakeup is the latest in a series of defeats for playoff hopefuls. The pressure of being ranked high doesn't play as much of a factor as the difficulty of navigating the schedule in October and November without taking a single loss. 

But as long as its only one loss -- as Ohio State has shown -- you can climb your way back up in the polls and the playoff rankings. That's what teams like Penn State and TCU will be pointing out over the next month, trying to win out and finish the year as one of the top four teams in the country after getting knocked off in Week 9. 

Here's the way we think the AP Top 25 will look on Sunday. 

1. Alabama (Previous week -- 1): The Tide were off preparing for next week's primetime battle with LSU on CBS. 

2. Georgia (3): After pouring it on Florida in Jacksonville, Georgia jumps into Penn State's spot at No. 2 to give the SEC the top two teams in the country heading into the release of the first College Football Playoff rankings. The Bulldogs' 42-7 win was complete and left no room for rivalry-related miscues, proving again that this year's team is championship caliber. Now all that's left is to continue playing to that standard to set up a 1-against-2 SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. 

3. Ohio State (6): Will Ohio State jump Wisconsin? I think so, since J.T. Barrett's performance against Penn State removes some of the doubt applied to the Buckeyes' midseason winning streak. The voters are going to be juiced up watching that comeback, more enthusiastic about the Buckeyes' long-term possibilities than Wisconsin's -- even if that shouldn't matter in the poll. 

4. Wisconsin (5): All they do is win. Wisconsin improved to 8-0 and moved one step closer to clinching another Big Ten West title with a low-scoring win at Illinois. Star freshman running back Jonathan Taylor was knocked out of the game with an injury, creating a potential wrinkle in the Badgers' playoff push. 

5. Penn State (2): After yet another fast start, everything seemed to be going Penn State's way. What Saturday showed was a team with all the traits of a title contender that didn't have a counter-punch when another heavyweight got hot. All Penn State needed was a few more first downs to put away the Buckeyes, but there was no stopping Ohio State's defensive front. The Nittany Lions need help to get back into the Big Ten title picture, but this is still one of the best college football teams in the country. 

6. Clemson (7): As annual crossover opponents, Clemson (Atlantic Division) and Georgia Tech (Coastal Division) play every season. The Tigers are well aware of the challenges posed by a Paul Johnson-coached team, and Dabo Swinney's record against Johnson improved to 6-4 with Clemson's third-straight win against the Yellow Jackets. Defending Georgia Tech's offense proved to be a showcase for Clemson's defense with the Tigers more than happy to get out of a rainy Saturday against the option with a low-scoring win. Up next is arguably the toughest game left on their schedule: a trip to Raleigh to face NC State.  

7. Miami (8): Things got dicey in Chapel Hill as Malik Rosier was off and the Hurricanes had to ride its defense to yet another one-score win. Rosier missed a series with a shoulder injury and ended up with a career-high 365 yards, but he completed just 16-of-38 passes and the Miami offense was just 4 for 17 on third down. It wasn't a clean win, but it keeps Miami undefeated heading into the ACC Coastal title tilt with Virginia Tech next week. 

8. Notre Dame (9): Yet another test passed and Notre Dame's stock is surging. Brandon Wimbush had one of the best games of his Notre Dame career in a huge spot with NC State in town. The Wolfpack's defensive line did a good job of competing up front against the Irish line, but no one can expect to keep Josh Adams in check for too long. While the school rolled out an official Heisman Trophy campaign (#33Trucking), Adams broke yet another long touchdown run and finished with his third 200-yard performance of the season. 

9. Oklahoma (10): The emergence of Rodney Anderson as a featured part of the rushing attack has improved the Sooners' offense at a key point in the schedule. The sophomore back ran for 181 yards on 24 carries (both season highs) and a score as the Sooners pulled away late from Texas Tech in a 49-27 win.

10. TCU (4): It took eight games before TCU had a bad performance, and unfortunately it came against a hot Iowa State team that's developed a knack for knocking off top-five opponents. Kenny Hill was bad, throwing two interceptions, fumbling twice (one lost) and completing just 12-of-25 passes. The Frogs defense played well for most of the game, but the only points the team put on the board was a kickoff return touchdown in the 14-7 loss. Expect TCU to fall back with the rest of its one-loss Big 12 brethren. 

11. Oklahoma State (11): The Cowboys had plenty of mistakes in this look-ahead spot with the Bedlam rivalry just one week away -- including an interception returned for a touchdown and a punt blocked for a touchdown -- but any win in bad conditions at West Virginia is going to be good enough for Mike Gundy and his staff. The most encouraging sign for the Cowboys moving forward was a successful rushing attack (246 yards on the ground) after struggling on the ground against Texas. 

12. Washington (12): UCLA doesn't have the defense to stand a chance against Washington's ground attack, and the Huskies seemed to know that coming into an easy 21-point win. 

13. Virginia Tech (13): Since the Clemson loss, Virginia Tech has outscored opponents 106-20 and now appears to be in peak condition heading into a two-week stretch that will define its season. Next week is a trip to play Miami for first-place in the ACC Coastal Division and the week after is a game against Georgia Tech in Atlanta. If Virginia Tech wins both, it's going to have a playoff profile worth respecting heading into the ACC title game.

14. UCF (18): The Knights blew out Austin Peay, throwing a basketball number on the scoreboard (73 points) in a 40-point win. With South Florida losing, the path has cleared for UCF to make a run at a New Year's Six bowl. 

15. Iowa State (25): Bowl eligible for the first time since 2012 and nationally ranked for the first time since 2005, Iowa State's dream season will likely include getting its name mentioned by the CFP Selection Committee on Tuesday. Linebacker Marcel Spears looked like a star, leading a Cyclones' defense that carried the weight in yet another win against a Big 12 heavyweight. 

16. Auburn (19): The Tigers were off in Week 9. 

17. Stanford (20): Is there any glory in beating Oregon State 15-14? I'm going to guess the absence of Bryce Love keeps the Cardinal near their previous spot even if the on-field performance provided plenty of reasons to doubt their status as one of the top 25 teams in the country. 

18. USC (21): USC is getting healthier, and Saturday night's dominant win as a narrow favorite at Arizona State should inspire some confidence as the Trojans make a run at winning the Pac-12 title. 

19. LSU (23): The Tigers were off in Week 9, gearing up for next Saturday's game against Alabama.

20. Memphis (24): Jumping out to a 35-0 lead in the first half made sure that Tulane had no chance to knock off the American Athletic Conference title hopefuls. 

21. NC State (15): The toughest challenge for NC State will be maintaining their high level of play with another tough opponent on the schedule. Clemson comes to town next week, and beating the Tigers is the only way for the Wolfpack to keep their ACC title hopes alive after seeing their playoff push stalled in South Bend. 

22. Mississippi State (NR): Nick Fitzgerald's three-touchdown outing puts Mississippi State back in the polls following a solid 35-14 win at Texas A&M. Todd Grantham's defense totally shut down the Aggies and recorded three interceptions while the Bulldogs stayed committed the ground game (52 attempts, 228 yards) and pulled away in the second half. 

23. Arizona (NR): Khalil Tate and J.J. Taylor diced up Washington State's defense with big plays, moving the Wildcats to 6-2 overall with a shot to make a run at the Pac-12 South title. Tate showed the full range of his offensive skills in the 58-37 win, and now it's time to consider what that matchup against USC looks like with the Pac-12 title picture in mind. 

24. Washington State (15): Tyler Hilinski threw for more than 500 yards after Luke Falk got benched, but Washington State could not stop Arizona from scoring. That evidence we've seen from an improved Cougars defense this year suddenly disappeared as the Wildcats hit big play after big play. Now hanging on in the Pac-12 race, it will be interesting to see how the quarterback position is handled down the stretch of the regular season. 

25. Michigan (NR): A quarterback change sparked the offense as Brandon Peters led touchdown drives on his first three possessions. We'll see if the improvements hold through the rest of the regular season with Wisconsin and Ohio State coming up at the end of November. 

Projected dropped out: Michigan State (16), South Florida (17), West Virginia (22)