If you’ve been reading this column every week, sorry. I’ve been ruining the suspense for you. You’ve been seeing all of the Playoff rankings before they come out. Apologies for that.

In actuality, these rankings haven’t had a ton of movement in the top 10 and I’ve guessed right on the few unknowns so far. Guessing the field in order last week was merely predicting that we’d see a slight shuffle at the No. 8 and No. 9 spots, and that the rest would remain unchanged.

Well, nobody in the top 10 lost this week. There shouldn’t be a massive shakeup, unless the selection committee really wants to go rogue and throw everyone off the scent. Do I think that’ll happen? No, but crazier things have happened. After all, it’s 2020. It’s the year of craziness.

Let’s see if we can make it 2 correct top-10 predictions in a row:

10. Iowa State

Wait, what? Why would the Cyclones get bumped a spot for blowing out West Virginia? How does that make sense? Well, as I said earlier, nobody in the top 10 lost. Hence, we’re going to see a couple of moves that in a nutshell, might make some scratch their heads, like this one. With Indiana making a big jump after a road win at Wisconsin, I expect 2-loss Iowa State to take a slight step back a week after it made a surge into the top 10. Did beating a mediocre West Virginia team suddenly make the selection committee give Iowa State’s 2-loss résumé the benefit of the doubt over Georgia’s 2-loss résumé? It could, but I doubt it.

9. Georgia

An idle week for Georgia will result in a slight shift back because of aforementioned Indiana. This doesn’t matter from Georgia’s standpoint because the path to the Playoff is now even more gone with Florida clinching the SEC East, but it does matter for Alabama. The Dawgs staying in the top 10 gives Alabama 2 such blowout wins. That’s going to make Alabama’s Playoff bid a lock if it can roll this weekend against a depleted Arkansas squad. Would I personally have Georgia ranked ahead of Iowa State? No, but the selection committee has made its feelings known about how it values their résumés.

8. Indiana

Has Indiana been a little bit underrated so far to have not been in the top 10? Perhaps, but the selection committee has made it clear that it’s about who you beat, and not just who you lost to. That’s why we saw 2-loss teams like Iowa State and Georgia ranked ahead of 1-loss teams like Indiana and Miami. But that Wisconsin win on the road will change things for the Hoosiers. They now have wins against 3 teams that were ranked at the time they played them. Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin have all been disappointments, but those are clearly 3 teams with more roster talent than Indiana, and the Hoosiers suffocated them while having that lone blemish of a 1-touchdown road loss at Ohio State.

I think the selection committee will maintain its unofficial stance that teams ranked 1-7 are the only teams with a Playoff path. That should keep IU firmly at that No. 8 spot. Also remember, the higher the selection committee ranks Indiana, the easier it is to justify keeping Ohio State in the top 4.

7. Cincinnati

I’m old enough to remember the last time the Bearcats played football. It was Nov. 21 against UCF. What has really changed with Cincinnati’s résumé? Nothing really, except for the fact that Tulsa won again and will likely be in the Top 25 for at least 1 of these 2 matchups with Cincinnati to close the regular season. But it’s easy for the selection committee to justify keeping Luke Fickell’s squad at this spot because of the aforementioned 1-7 rule. That is, nobody outside of those rankings has a Playoff path.

6. Florida

The only way that Florida was moving into that No. 5 spot was with a loss from A&M, or if any of those top-4 teams somehow lost as massive favorites, which didn’t happen. The Gators’ ranking really doesn’t matter currently because the path is still dependent on the SEC Championship. It’s pretty simple. I don’t see a path in which Florida, who only has 2 wins vs. teams with winning records, loses a close game to undefeated Alabama and makes the field as a 2-loss, non-Power 5 champ. Ask 2018 Georgia about that. For now, that head-to-head factor will still keep the Gators behind A&M.

5. Texas A&M

Could the selection committee move the Aggies up to No. 4 after the impressive 11-point win at Auburn? It’s possible, though I don’t see it happening. Why? I don’t think they want to make that decision yet. If they move A&M to No. 4, it’s harder to justify having that flexibility come Selection Sunday. Remember that the Aggies and Buckeyes are set to play each of the next 2 weekends. Ohio State is going to get a better Dec. 19 opponent than A&M, too. But if they leave the field as is, the selection committee can actually pivot if the Buckeyes get a game canceled.

Was I more impressed with A&M than Ohio State? Yes. But this is about the selection committee, who has given Ohio State the benefit of the doubt repeatedly even with those lack of games played. I expect that to continue.

4. Ohio State

Was blowing out MSU a head-turning win? No, but at this point, Ohio State’s most important factor is games played. That was a game, albeit one against a bad team and one that Ohio State was without its head coach and 3 offensive line starters. Although I thought A&M had the more impressive win, this still comes back to my belief that the selection committee already showed its hand. The Buckeyes got the benefit of the doubt with the lack of games. They didn’t move back when they had a game canceled. That’s why I don’t expect them to move back after winning a Power 5 road game by 40. Fair or not, the selection committee is going to let this play out before making a definitive decision on OSU vs. A&M rather than moving them back and forth.

3. Clemson

Speaking of teams who had blowout road wins against inferior competition, Clemson did just that. If you’re wondering why Clemson has been given such a pass as the top 1-loss team, it’s pretty simple. The Tigers have won every game that Trevor Lawrence started by at least 3 scores. And yes, the double-overtime loss at unbeaten Notre Dame without Lawrence is about as quality of a loss as one can have. The Tigers closed the regular season with just 1 win against an ACC team with a winning conference record, but as we know, this all comes down to the ACC Championship.

2. Notre Dame

There’s a fascinating discussion about the Irish’s Playoff chances before the ACC Championship is played. Should Notre Dame, barring a blowout loss to Clemson, already be in? I think there’s a better chance than some realize. The Irish have arguably the best win to go with that undefeated record. They also have won by at least 14 points in every road game this season. In most years, Notre Dame is probably an obvious No. 1 seed at this point. It isn’t because Alabama is having a historically dominant regular season.

The question should be how close does Notre Dame have to keep it against Clemson to make the field? Two scores? One score? I think the college football world needs to be prepared for the scenario that the Irish lose and still look completely worthy of making the field. Fortunately for Notre Dame and Clemson, they now get a bye week to keep their top-3 rankings and root for more chaos to clear the path to the ACC’s 2-team bid.

1. Alabama

Shocker, right? The streak of 35-point efforts continued. The streak of not allowing 20 points also continued. That’s 5 consecutive games in which the Crimson Tide held a team to less than 20 points — it’s an average of 10 points allowed per game during that streak — which is perhaps the biggest feather in Alabama’s cap for why it’s more worthy than ever of locking up a Playoff bid this weekend. That’s right. This weekend, not the SEC Championship.

If Alabama improves to 10-0 against Arkansas, it will have won all of its games by at least 15 points, which is an absurd thought for a 10-game SEC schedule. Alabama could end the season having won its last 6 games by 4 scores or more. That’s not including the 2 wins Alabama had in that first month against top-10 teams … both of which were blowouts. Alabama has been the selection committee’s easiest ranking of the week, and it’s hard to envision that changing through Selection Sunday.