Northwestern has risen once again in Tuesday's College Football Playoff rankings, but remains behind Notre Dame, Baylor and Florida State. The Wildcats were also jumped by TCU and Ole Miss despite winning.
The Wildcats rose two spots to No. 14 after a 24-14 win over Illinois at Soldier Field, jumping ahead of Michigan, Oklahoma State, Navy and Florida, but still are likely to be left out of the New Year's Six bowls.
For Northwestern to reach a New Year's Six bowl, it would likely have to finish ahead of all but one of the following teams:
Notre Dame, Florida State, Michigan, North Carolina, the third-highest ranked Big 12 team (assuming Oklahoma makes the Playoff), the third-highest ranked SEC team (assuming Alabama makes the Playoff), and the loser of the Pac 12 Championship game.