Editor’s Note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.

Winning games is difficult.

That’s a press conference cliché you hear from every coach, but it’s true, especially for coaches who deal with college athletes. How else can you explain what happened on Saturday?

For two weeks, SEC fans beat the narrative drum that Indiana didn’t play anyone. On Saturday, Indiana played Ohio State and was manhandled 38-15. Justification! Well, until Ole Miss lost to a previously 5-5 Florida team a few minutes later. Then Alabama lost to an Oklahoma team 5-5 (24-3). Then Texas A&M lost to an Auburn team 4-6. Suddenly, three SEC teams that started the day with two losses and a clear path to the College Football Playoff suffered a third loss.

It turns out it’s hard to win. That’s not to say that all 10-1 records are created equally or that more wins should equate to a higher ranking. They don’t do that. It’s important to beat good teams. But you have to have an appreciation for winning games, even against average or above-average teams.

At some point on Friday, the SEC appeared to have a path to sending five teams to the 12-team College Football Playoff. At the end of the weekend, there are three SEC teams in the CFP field based on this week’s Athletic 134 rankings.

Every week this season has given us an upset that has turned the CFP on its head. I wouldn’t make any reservations before the final weekend. That’s why we love college football.

But college football is more than just the strength of schedule rankings, betting lines and hypotheticals. You have to play games. That’s what sport is about. You never know what can happen. So when you win, no matter what type of win it is, make sure you enjoy it.

Here is this week’s edition of The Athletic 134.

1-10

Notre Dame fans, I told you I would put you in the top 5 once you beat Army, and you did, so here you are. Beat USC and the Irish will host a playoff game in South Bend. I almost put Notre Dame ahead of Penn State considering how close the Nittany Lions were against USC and Minnesota. But Penn State’s win over Illinois is now a top-25 win, and the Irish’s loss to Northern Illinois remains a drag. If they can handle a USC team that took Penn State to overtime, there’s a reason to favor the Nittany Lions.

Indiana drops to No. 9 after the loss to Ohio State thanks to the aforementioned SEC losses. But the Hoosiers also have a slew of solid wins, and their schedule strength has risen to No. 51 in ESPN’s metric, higher than Oregon, Miami, SMU, Notre Dame or Boise State, for what it’s worth. SMU is 8th in my rankings. The Mustangs are getting going and have that drop in quality over BYU. I still don’t understand why Miami is higher than SMU in the polls and CFP rankings.

Boise State moves up to No. 10 after escaping a bad Wyoming team, but the Broncos are reeling with some close calls lately. Still, UNLV’s win and narrow loss at Oregon in Week 2 have them staying here for now. But with a rematch against No. 24 UNLV now likely in the Mountain West championship game, the Group of 5 playoff spot is far from assured.

Additionally, Georgia and Tennessee shouldn’t ignore Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt, respectively, this week.

11-25

Miami is ranked 11th, although it took a surprisingly long time to pull away from Wake Forest. But other than Indiana, the biggest winner from the SEC losses could be the ACC, which now has a strong case for two playoff bids assuming SMU and Miami win this week. I have Miami as a big team in my CFP range.

Alabama and Ole Miss fall to 12th and 14th, respectively. I don’t think the Tide are out of the CFP mix yet, but they will need help. Arizona State moves up to No. 13 after beating BYU and takes over the top spot in the Big 12, while BYU falls to No. 16. The Cougars still have wins against SMU and Kansas State, so they aren’t falling too far behind.

Clemson moves up to #17 and I don’t understand why the Tigers are #12 in both polls. They don’t have good wins and shouldn’t fall behind two SEC teams that beat Georgia since Georgia beat Clemson. If Clemson beats South Carolina, we can start a general CFP conversation, but the Tigers shouldn’t be close right now, and it’ll be hard to convince me that a second ACC spot doesn’t go to SMU or Miami should . I’m very interested to see where the committee places Clemson. Anything near No. 12 opens up the possibility that the Tigers will be passed over as losers of the potential SMU-Miami matchup.

Kansas State is at No. 19, again ahead of Colorado at No. 20 and still ahead of Tulane at No. 21 because the Wildcats beat both of them. Iowa State is ranked 22nd and at least has a path to the Big 12 Championship Game.

26-50

Army drops from the Top 25 to No. 27 after a 49-14 loss to Notre Dame. No. 28 Syracuse has an impressive 8-3 record in Fran Brown’s first season, including a win over UNLV. Florida climbs to No. 33 after beating Ole Miss, a week after beating LSU. The Gators are the top-ranked 6-5 team, with all five losses coming to top-25 teams.

Washington State falls to No. 43 after a loss to Oregon State, which came after a loss to New Mexico. Oklahoma moves up to No. 46 after beating Alabama, its first win since September. No. 47 Kansas is the best 5-6 team in the country. The Jayhawks are the first team in history to defeat three consecutive top-25 teams while a sub-.500 team, most recently posting a dominant performance against Colorado. West Virginia defeated UCF to become bowl eligible and climb to No. 50.

51-75

Boston College conquers North Carolina and moves up to No. 52. James Madison falls to No. 55 after losing to Appalachian State in the snow, and the Tar Heels fall to No. 56.

Cal came back to beat Stanford, qualify for the bowl and move up to No. 54, still ahead of Auburn, which advances after a win over Texas A&M. Cal’s win over Auburn gives the Golden Bears the lead.

Marshall jumps to No. 65 after defeating Coastal Carolina to remain atop the Sun Belt East Division. No. 73 Jacksonville State has won eight straight games after an 0-3 start and secured a spot in the Conference USA Championship Game. Liberty’s win over Western Kentucky puts those two and Sam Houston in the running for the other CUSA spot.

76-100

Colorado State was bitten and lost to Fresno State, significantly denting the Rams’ Mountain West championship hopes. They now need UNLV to lose to Nevada. Miami (Ohio), Ohio and Bowling Green are all 6-1 in MAC play heading into last weekend, and all three advance with wins. No. 84 East Carolina is now 4-0 under interim coach Blake Harrell, who is in talks to get the full-time job.

Oregon State moves up to No. 88 after beating Washington State, but falls behind San Jose State based on head-to-head results. Texas State falls to No. 91 after losing to Georgia State. Oklahoma State finally showed a pulse, losing 56-48 to Texas Tech, making it eight straight losses and an 0-8 record in Big 12 play.

101-134

No. 103 Florida State finally got a second win, against FCS Charleston Southern. No. 112 Charlotte defeated FAU in a battle of interim coaches. No. 113 Central Michigan defeated Western Michigan and then coach Jim McElwain retired.

No. 134 Kent State missed its last best chance to win with a 38-17 loss to No. 128 Akron. The Golden Flashes need to win in Buffalo to avoid an 0-12 season.

The Athletic 134 Series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic retains full editorial independence. Partners do not control or participate in the reporting or editing process, and do not review stories before publication.

(Photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images)