Tuesday night's College Football Playoff Rankings release didn't look that much different in week 12, despite three of the top four teams losing in week 11.

Alabama stayed at No. 1 and once again solidified itself as the clear cut number one with its blowout victory over Mississippi State. Ohio State moved from outside the top four into the No. 2 spot after its second consecutive 59-point victory. Its Big Ten East rival Michigan stayed at No. 3 after its loss to Iowa. Clemson also stayed No. 4 even after its loss to Pitt.On the outside looking in is Louisville at No. 5 and Washington at No. 6. In the seventh and eighth spots you have two more Big Ten teams in Wisconsin and Penn State and rounding out the top 10 is Oklahoma and Colorado.Teams one through six have either zero or one loss, while teams seven through ten have two losses apiece.So, I know a majority of Times News area readers are wondering what the Nittany Lions must do in order to get their name in the conversation for the College Football Playoff.First things first, they must win out in the regular season, which would consist of winning at Rutgers Saturday night and then defeating Michigan State at home in two weeks.Last night, the ESPN broadcast team on the CFP show was talking about the possibility of Penn State winning the Big Ten Championship and then making the playoff.My first thought was "pump the brakes." If Penn State would win out and Michigan loses one more game this season, then Penn State would go onto the Big Ten Championship in Indianapolis. Michigan plays Indiana this week and the Wolverines are at Ohio State to finish up the regular season. The way it looks right now, Wisconsin is the favorite to come out of the West, which means the Nittany Lions would then have to defeat the Badgers to get their name in the mix for the CFP.Before I get into what needs to happen with the other teams for Penn State to firmly get into the top four at the end of the season, let's talk about some issues the Nittany Lions have right now. Injuries have been decimating this season for Penn State, especially at the linebacker position and now in the offensive line unit.At one point during the year, seven linebackers were out for Penn State and that bad luck has found its way to the offensive line. Starting right tackle Andrew Nelson is out for the season, starting left tackle Brendan Mahon has been out since mid-season, and backup left tackle Paris Palmer was lost for the season against Indiana last week with a leg injury. Starting guard Connor McGovern was also knocked out of the game against Indiana and head coach James Franklin didn't clarify when he would be back.Penn State's offensive line will now look like this heading into this week's matchup with Rutgers; Ryan Bates (LT), Steven Gonzales (LG), Brian Gaia (C), Derek Dowrey (RG), Chasz Wright (RT). McGovern is still listed as the starting right guard on the depth chart, but James Franklin said in his Tuesday weekly press conference that it was too early to tell if McGovern would play this week. If McGovern can't play that would mean Penn State would be starting three backup offensive lineman against Rutgers on Saturday night.That brings me back to my "pump the brakes" statement. Let's wait until Penn State wins out in the regular season before talking about them in the CFP. With the injuries up front, it's really not inconceivable to think that the Nittany Lions can be upset in either of these two games. I personally think they win both, but let's see Penn State at 10-2 before we put them in the conversation.Lastly, if everything works out for the Nittany Lions and they finish the season 11-2 and win the Big Ten Championship I would expect them to get in the CFP. That's if of course, the committee respects winning your respective conference. Right now, most media seems to have Ohio State in over Penn State if Ohio State wins out and that is the dilemma the committee has. Do they go with the resume of Penn State and championship or do they go with the thinking that everyone else has, which is that Ohio State is the better overall team, despite losing to Penn State?A ton of things could happen from now until then, so this thing could work itself out, but if it does come down to that my personal opinion is Penn State will either be left out or squeak in the four spot over someone like Louisville or Washington. That's because if Ohio State wins out, it's almost a guarantee that the Buckeyes get in.One thing is for sure, it will be an exciting couple of weeks.