Week 12 college football games most likely to shake up the College Football Playoff rankings

By the end of Saturday, two more highly-ranked SEC teams could see their College Football Playoff hopes effectively dashed, or the conference could be looking at seven viable playoff contenders heading into the final three weeks.

Here are the Week 12 college football games most likely to cause major shakeup in the CFP rankings.

(All game times are ET. All point spreads are from ESPN Bet.)

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

No. 10 Texas (7-2, 4-1 SEC) at No. 5 Georgia (8-1, 6-1)

Which Georgia team will take the field Saturday at Sanford Stadium? The one that totally controlled the fourth quarter in a massive top-10 showdown with Ole Miss and soundly rolled over Mississippi State on the road last week in a 41-21 victory? Or the one that needed a missed field goal and overtime to escape Tennessee, that lost at home to Alabama, and that had to rally from deficits in the second half vs. Auburn and in the fourth quarter vs. Florida?

Then again, what Texas team is going to arrive in Athens? The Longhorns, who dominated Oklahoma and led Vanderbilt 34-10 through three quarters last week? Or ... the other version we've seen pretty much the rest of the season (including the fourth quarter last week, as that lead all but slipped away)?

Texas is playing for its season with no margin for error. Georgia isn't necessarily in that spot, but a loss would really ratchet up the pressure the rest of the way on the Bulldogs.

Georgia is a 6.5-point favorite.

No. 11 Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2 SEC) at No. 4 Alabama (8-1, 6-0)

Oklahoma will either end this weekend with a strong shot at earning an at-large CFP berth or its playoff hopes will be over -- there is no in between for the Sooners.

Upset Alabama for a second straight ranked win on the road (after winning 33-27 at Tennessee two weekends ago before a bye), and the Sooners can close out the schedule at home against Missouri (without its starting QB) and reeling LSU fully in control of its playoff fate.

Of course, no SEC team has managed to beat the Crimson Tide this season, not even the four ranked opponents it has dismissed in succession during its overall eight-game winning streak.

This is the final real hurdle for the Tide, meanwhile, with remaining games against Eastern Illinois and rival Auburn at its lowest (albeit on the road). Alabama could all but lock up its spot in the SEC championship game and control its path to a first-round playoff bye.

Alabama is a 5.5-point favorite.

No. 9 Notre Dame (7-2) at No. 22 Pittsburgh (7-2)

Notre Dame has the thinnest of resumes among top-10 teams, going 1-2 against ranked opponents so far, with its best win at home over USC and losses to Miami and Texas A&M.

Outside of those three games, the Fighting Irish have collected wins against three of the worst Power Four teams (Boston College, Purdue and Arkansas) along with Boise State, NC State and Navy. That's a lot of respect being given for what the Irish did last season, reaching the CFP championship game (and the general power of the brand).

Well, none of that will matter anymore if Notre Dame loses to Pittsburgh, and it's not far-fetched that it happens.

The Panthers may be 7-2 overall, but they're 5-0 with true freshman QB Mason Heintschel at the helm of the offense, as he's averaged 302.2 passing yards per game in his starts and all but one of those games has ended in a margin of victory of15 points or more.

If Notre Dame loses, will the CFP committee have the fortitude to effectively drop the Irish from the playoff discussion? Will Pitt get some true national buzz and a clear path to play its way onto the 12-team bracket with games at No. 16 Georgia Tech and vs. No. 15 Miami still to come?

Notre Dame is a 12.5-point favorite, which seems awfully high.

No. 21 Iowa (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) at No. 17 USC (7-2, 5-1)

Similarly, USC appears to have a clear path to the playoffs and a much-needed breakthrough for coach Lincoln Riley after two down years, but the Trojans haven't exactly had to do much to reach this point.

They lost their biggest game on the road at Notre Dame (due in large part to some head-scratching decision from Riley), lost at Illinois and only have one truly notable win (31-13 over Michigan at home). Otherwise, the Trojans have beaten the likes of Missouri State, Georgia Southern, Purdue, Michigan State, Nebraska and Northwestern.

The point being is that the Trojans' opportunity -- home Saturday vs. No. 21 Iowa, on the road at No. 8 Oregon and then the rivalry game with UCLA -- is merely that. They haven't earned anything yet. What they show starting Saturday will reveal what kind of potential this team has.

Iowa, meanwhile, may still be ranked, but it lost its playoff shot last week in that dramatic defeat to Oregon. However, it can also play spoiler and take USC out of the picture, which would leave only four Big Ten teams (No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 8 Oregon, and No. 18 Michigan) as remaining playoff contenders.

It's possible that the Big Ten will only get three playoff teams this year if Michigan loses to Ohio State, so the conference should hope that USC can make a run.

USC is a 6.5-point favorite.

TCU (6-3, 3-3 Big 12) at No. 12 BYU (8-1, 5-1)

Like Notre Dame, there's major upset potential Saturday for BYU.

The Cougars were one of college football's last few unbeaten teams until they got humbled 29-7 last week by Texas Tech. Outside of a win at home over rivals Utah, BYU's resume is pretty thin on notable wins (Iowa State and Arizona would be the next best).

TCU has stumbled at times this season, but when they're on offense, senior quarterback Josh Hoover and the Horned Frogs can put up points in a hurry. The Cougars, however, just aren't built to come back from sizable deficits, given their heavy reliance on the rushing attack and limited passing game.

That said, BYU's defense is solid (16th nationally in allowing 18.3 points per game) and the Cougars will need it to deliver Saturday night.

A second straight loss would at least complicate BYU's path to the Big 12 championship game, and even if the Cougars made it there, they'd likely be looking at a rematch with Texas Tech, needing to win out to advance to the playoffs.

The oddsmakers seem to agree with us on the upset potential here.

BYU is only a 3.5-point favorite at home.