Newsweek College Football Rankings, Heisman and CFP Predictions—Week 16

Deputy Night Editor

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Only three teams from last week's top 10 played over the weekend, and two of them lost, which caused a small shake up in this week's Newsweek Top 20. Only one team from the top five was in action on Saturday.

No. 1 Alabama got past a slow start but steamrolled Arkansas on the road, and the Crimson Tide held onto the top spot. Florida, which was No. 6, lost at home to LSU after missing a last-second field goal that would have sent the game to overtime. A bizarre shoe-throwing penalty kept a late LSU drive alive that allowed the Tigers to take their 37-34 game-winning lead. Miami got throttled at home, 62-26, by North Carolina, which moved the Hurricanes out ot the top 10 as well.

Georgia, which was No. 9 in the College Football Playoff ranking, overcame a slow start to beat Missouri on the road,

Coastal Carolina stayed perfect with a touchdown in the last minute to get past Troy, and USC overcame an 18-point deficit on the road to beat cross-town rival UCLA on Saturday night in the Rose Bowl. The Trojans remain perfect on the season, and they're now in the Newsweek Top 10.

The new rankings will get a jolt next weekend as there will be eight conference championship games. The biggest ones on tap will be Friday night's Pac-12 title game, followed by the Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, ACC, AAC and SEC championships on Saturday.

USC vs UCLA — Greg Dulcich #85 and Chase Cota #23 of the UCLA Bruins are unable to catch a last second pass as Chris Steele #8, Olaijah Griffin #2, Chase Williams #7 and Isaiah Pola-Mao #21 of the... Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images

That said, here is the Newsweek Top 20 for Week 16

1	Alabama	10-0	Sat. vs #13 Florida — SEC Championship
2	Notre Dame	10-0	Sat. vs #4 Clemson — ACC Championship
3	Ohio State	5-0	Sat. vs #16 Northwestern — Big Ten Championship
4	Clemson	9-1	Sat. vs #2 Notre Dame — ACC Championship
5	Texas A&M	7-1	Sat. at Tennessee
6	Cincinnati	8-0	Sat. vs #19 Tulsa — AAC Championship
7	Iowa State	8-2	Sat. vs #10 Oklahoma — Big 12 Championship
8	USC	5-0	Sat. vs Washington — Pac 12 Championship
9	Indiana	6-1	Big Ten Champions Week
10	Oklahoma	7-2	Sat. vs #7 Iowa State — Big 12 Championship
11	Coastal Carolina	11-0	Sat. vs #18 Louisiana — Sun Belt Championship
12	North Carolina	8-3	Regular season complete
13	Florida	8-2	Sat. vs #1 Alabama — SEC Championship
14	Georgia	7-2	Sat. vs Vanderbilt
15	BYU	9-1	Regular season complete
16	Northwestern	6-1	Sat. vs #3 Ohio State — Big Ten hampionship
17	Miami (Fla.)	8-2	Regular season complete
18	Louisiana	9-1	Sat. at #11 Coastal Carolina — Sun Belt Championship
19	Tulsa	6-1	Sat. at #6 Cincinnati — AAC Championship
20	Texas	6-3	Regular season complete

Heisman Trophy Frontrunners

Mac Jones had no touchdown passes and Trask lost a home game to an LSU team with a losing record and a depleted secondary. Trask did pass for 474 yards and a pair of touchdowns, though, but had costly interceptions against the Tigers.

Alabama receiver DeVonta Smith did not have a receiving touchdown, but he returned a punt for a score to break open a 3-3 tie and energize his Crimson Tide team that looked otherwise lethargic until then.

Florida's Kyle Pitts did not play, for undisclosed reasons. Alabama's Najee Harris scored a couple of short touchdowns before getting pulled.

Smith leaped into the second spot this week, and next week's Alabama-Florida game in the SEC Championship could actually determine this year's Heisman winner, especially if voters are waiting until this one game to determine their top three.

Here are the Newsweek Heisman rankings after Week 15 of the season.