The College Football Playoff Rankings couldn't have come at a better time. You could almost swear that everything was planned to work this way -- the rankings come out and a few days later we have a Saturday that's stuffed to the gills with massive matchups.

Matchups between ranked teams, and games with significant playoff implications ... it's the kind of Saturday we dream of having every week.

Make-or-break games

No. 5 Oklahoma at No. 11 Oklahoma State, FS1, 4 p.m. ET: Some Oklahoma fans were confused on Tuesday night. They were all ready to be outraged by the Sooners being ranked behind Ohio State, but then found themselves ahead of the Buckeyes, but still outside the top four. Well, either way, the resolution to the anger is simple.

If Oklahoma can pick up a win over the Cowboys in Bedlam this week, things will take care of themselves. As for the Cowboys, they're in a similar position. They were probably slightly disrespected by being ranked outside of the top 10, but a win over the Sooners will boost their resume quite a bit.

No. 13 Virginia Tech at No. 10 Miami, ABC, 8 p.m. ET: Two teams who have been good this season, but are probably both slightly underrated. I mean, if you're Miami, I can understand feeling insulted after seeing your team ranked No. 10 despite a 7-0 start. But a win over Virginia Tech is precisely the kind of win the committee wants to see from the Canes.

The same thing can be said about the Hokies, who are easily the most underrated one-loss team in the country right now. They have a win over a solid West Virginia team, and their only loss is Clemson. Still, the rest of the resume is somewhat flimsy, and it's fair to question how much a win over Miami would even improve their stock.

No. 19 LSU at No. 2 Alabama, CBS, 8 p.m. ET: Nick Saban said he didn't care about any stupid polls at this time of year, but do you believe him? I mean, do you think that Saban hasn't mentioned the fact that Georgia is No. 1 right now while Alabama is only No. 2?

Well, the reason Alabama is only No. 2 is that, as dominant as its been, it doesn't have any resume wins. LSU would provide one for it. And on the other side of the coin, if LSU pulls off an upset, well, things will get crazy.

No. 4 Clemson at No. 20 NC State, ABC, 3:30 p.m. ET: Such an important game for both teams. For Clemson, the Tigers are ranked ahead of Oklahoma and Ohio State due to their wins over Auburn and Virginia Tech. A win over NC State would add another strong win to the resume -- and Tech beating Miami would help too.

If you're NC State, I'm not sure playoff hopes are realistic, but a win in this game all but wraps up the Atlantic Division for the Wolfpack. Maybe a two-loss ACC champion squeezes out a playoff bid if it has wins over Clemson and the Coastal champ?

Maintain your position games

South Carolina at No. 1 Georgia, CBS, 3:30 p.m. ET: Obviously Georgia can't improve its ranking, but it needs to beat the Gamecocks to hold on to its spot. Also, there's a clear path to the SEC getting two teams into the playoff this year if both Georgia and Alabama enter the SEC title game undefeated.

Wake Forest at No. 3 Notre Dame, NBC, 3:30 p.m. ET: The Irish have picked up huge wins the last two weeks, and that's why they're No. 3 at the moment. Still, they don't want to get caught looking past the Demon Deacons to their game against Miami. This Wake Forest team can bite you.

No. 6 Ohio State at Iowa, ESPN, 3:30 p.m. ET: Winning this game won't be enough to get Ohio State into the top four -- without others losing, obviously -- but it's still a must-win. Also, if Penn State's trip to Iowa City earlier this year was any indication, it won't be an easy win, either.

Texas at No. 8 TCU, ESPN, 7:15 p.m. ET: Losing to Iowa State hurt TCU's playoff hopes last week, but the Horned Frogs are still in the hunt. If they win out and win the Big 12, it's hard to foresee them being left out, but to do that they have to beat Texas first.

Conference Implications