Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, November 25, 2014

The season is winding down, with just one full week of action left. And tonight, the College Football Playoff poll will come under more scrutiny.

[btn-post-package]

Last week, Alabama was No. 1; Oregon No. 2; Florida State No. 3; Mississippi State No. 4.

I don?t foresee any change in this week?s poll. The Crimson Tide dispatched FCS Western Carolina, 48-14. The Ducks whipped Colorado, 44-10. Florida State had the closest call, needing a late field goal to beat visiting Boston College, 20-17. Mississippi State rolled visiting Vanderbilt, 51-0.

But there could be movement among the contenders below the Top Four. TCU was No. 5 last week and was off. Ohio State was No. 6 and topped Indiana 42-27. No. 7 Baylor beat visiting Oklahoma State, 49-28.

Keep an eye on UCLA.

The Bruins whipped USC, 38-20, to improve to 9-2. If the Bruins win at home on Friday against Stanford, they are in the Pac-12 title game against Oregon. And if they can beat the Ducks, how can the committee keep them out of the Top Four? Would an unbeaten Ohio State be better? Not likely.

Two things lift the Bruins above the Buckeyes, according to Davis Jones: Schedule strength and resume. If it can win out, UCLA will own seven wins away from home against Power Five conference opponents. That's the best in college football. And they will own a win of greater quality than anything Ohio State has - over Oregon - and another comparable to OSU's best - a 62-27 destruction of Arizona State in Tempe.

Bottom line: UCLA may surge into the 5-7 range this week-with OSU getting bumped out.

Here is how I think the Top Four will look.

1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Florida State
4. Mississippi State

About Tom Dienhart BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section.

And if you want to leave a comment on this post, use the box below. All comments need to be approved by a moderator.