Northwestern is ranked No. 20 in the third College Football Playoff rankings of the season after a Week 11 21-14 win over Purdue. The Wildcats fell two spots, down from No. 18 last week.
Northwestern (8-2, 4-2 Big Ten) was leapfrogged by Houston (19), North Carolina (17) and Navy (16), but did jump ahead of Mississippi State (No. 17 last week).
Northwestern's strength of schedule likely took a hit when Duke lost to Pittsburgh and Stanford lost to Oregon in Week 11.
Ahead of Northwestern and Mississippi State in last week's rankings, almost everybody held serve.