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The fourth edition of the College Football Playoff rankings will be revealed Tuesday night (7 ET, ESPN), and there are, at most, two more opportunities for contenders to impress the 12 members of the selection committee.On Dec. 4, the committee will release its final rankings, with the top four teams meeting in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 31.There wasnt a lot of drama in Week 12, as 10 of the committees top 11 teams won, but there could be some movement, especially outside of the top four. Heres a look at the top questions facing the committee this week:1. How high can three-loss USC rise? If Colorado loses to Utah on Saturday, USC will win the Pac-12 South division and play for the conference title. If the Trojans win, would the committee consider a three-loss team that looks completely different from how it looked in September, when it lost to Alabama, Stanford and Utah -- three ranked opponents that they played either on the road or at a neutral site? Right now, USC sits at No. 13, so it has a lot of ground to make up, but with Louisville and Utah both losing, it should get at least a little boost this week. USC has improved drastically under quarterback Sam Darnold. According to ESPN Stats & Information, since the start of October, USC has the highest average game score in the country (87 out of 100). Game score accounts for quality of the opponent, location of the game, the final result and how well a team controlled the game. The Trojans have certainly impressed the five former coaches on the committee. As committee chair Kirby Hocutt said, Honestly, when you talk to the coaches that are in the selection committee room, I dont think any of them if they were coaching today would want to play that Southern California team right now.2. How will Wilton Speights injury affect Michigan? Saturdays game against Indiana was the first time the committee had a chance to evaluate Michigan with backup quarterback John OKorn, and while UM got the 20-10 win, it wasnt pretty. It was Michigans weakest passing performance in 15 years, as OKorn was 7-of-16 for 59 yards, the fewest yards passing for Michigan since 2001. Michigan ran the ball well, as DeVeon Smith had a career-high 158 yards, but the offense was one-dimensional and lacked the creativity it displayed with Speight. Because of that, its possible Michigan drops in this weeks rankings. The bigger issue will be Saturday in Columbus, where it will take more than a strong running game to beat the Buckeyes. If Michigan wins, it will clinch the Big Ten East division.3. How does Oklahoma stack up against the two-loss Big Ten teams? The Sooners earned their first win against a ranked opponent, and it came against West Virginia in Morgantown, a tough place to play. They also have two decent losses: to Houston, which could be ranked this week after beating Louisville, and Ohio State. The question is whether that win at West Virginia will be enough to bump OU ahead of Wisconsin this week. If it does, that would mean its time to take OUs playoff hopes more seriously, because then the committee might take a two-loss OU ahead of a two-loss Wisconsin if they were their respective conferences champions. As long as Wisconsin and Washington are both ranked ahead of the Sooners, though, Oklahoma remains on the outside looking in and will need the Huskies to lose.4. Whats Oklahoma States record again? Mike Gundy thinks he has 10 wins. His official record -- the one the committee is using -- has his team at 9-2. In spite of Gundys protests, the Cowboys controversial loss to Central Michigan stands, and Hocutt has repeated that for two weeks now. We treat it as a loss, he said, However, the selection committee is aware of what transpired in that football game. Thats not the Cowboys problem. The bigger issue is a weak strength of schedule that includes a loss to Baylor and a one-point win against Texas Tech at home. Right now, the committee thinks there are four two-loss teams better than the Cowboys, and they all won in Week 12. A win at 5-5 TCU is unlikely to sway the committees perspective on Oklahoma State.5. Where does the Group of 5 race stand? The highest-ranked champion from a Group of 5 conference is guaranteed a spot in a New Years Six bowl, and this year it would be the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. Last week, one-loss Boise State was ranked one spot ahead of undefeated Western Michigan, a decision that went back and forth in our room, according to Hocutt. In the end, No. 20 Boise States win over Washington State carried more value than any opponent No. 21 WMU had beaten. Will that philosophy still stand now that Washington State lost? The committee also will consider the impact Wyomings last-second win against San Diego State had this week on a two-point attempt that failed. If the Cowboys had lost, Boise would have been in control of the division and favored to win the Mountain West. So now what? According to ESPNs Football Power Index, Western Michigan is the only Group of 5 team currently ranked by The Associated Press that is even favored to win its conference (71 percent chance to win the MAC). Boise State (25 percent), Navy (35 percent), South Florida (5 percent) and Troy (20 percent) are all long shots, according to FPI. 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The end of her gymnastics career hit Jordyn Wieber suddenly. Too far removed from high-intensity training and ineligible to compete in college because she turned pro in high school, the 2011 world champion and 2012 Olympic gold medalist needed a place to vent.So Wieber -- at the time a student manager for the UCLA womens program -- made her way to the office of Bruins coach Valorie Kondos Field and wept.She kept asking, `Is there a way to give the money back? Kondos Field said.Wieber insists the reaction was the byproduct of the emotional decision to formally retire nearly three years after helping her Fierce Five teammates overwhelm the field in London. Though she understood what she was giving up when she opted to turn professional at 17, that doesnt necessarily mean she believes its fair.Its kind of a bummer, said Wieber, now a 21-year-old volunteer assistant coach with the Bruins. Gymnastics should be the exception. Its too bad girls cant do both because gymnastics is so unique.The dilemma Wieber faced five years ago -- one current U.S. Olympic womens gymnastics team members Laurie Hernandez and Madison Kocian also face as they prepare for Rio de Janeiro next month -- is different than the one other young athletes wrestle with when deciding whether to sign away their amateur status.For top football and basketball players, turning pro means a chance at a signing a lucrative contract and competing at the highest level. Many arent finished products but are drafted based on raw ability that can be molded as they mature.Its not the same for elite female gymnasts like Wieber, who typically reach their prime in their late teens and who view the team-oriented nature of college gymnastics as a fun escape after years of trying to survive the sometimes lonely grind of training for the national team. Their biggest paydays as professionals dont come from player contracts or performance bonuses, but endorsements.Theres money to be made if you end up standing atop the podium at the Olympics with The Star Spangled Banner playing and your sports most coveted prize draped over your neck. The key is figuring out whether its worth sacrificing a college scholarship.Its a leap three-time world champion and heavy Olympic favorite Simone Biles opted to make last year when she pulled out of an offer from UCLA to sign with an agent. Biles was committed to joining the Bruins -- there was even a plaque in the gym her family owns that featured Biles wearing a blue UCLA-inscribed polo -- before the math became blatantly one-sided. The coach pleaded her case to the Biles family, but figured its akin to a college basketball coach asking LeBron James to do the same back in 2003.I had to try, Kondos Field said. With what shes looking at, though, you cant blame her.Biles is already pitching everything from Nike to United Airlines as part of a pre-Olympic rollout that could make her one of the faces of the 2016 Games if she heads back home in August with her backpack stuffed with gold.The choice also was easy for reigning Olympic champion Gabby Douglas and three-time medalist Aly Raisman, who both turned pro before the 2012 Games and have created a healthy living for themselves since London while also carving out return trips to the Olympics.For their less heralded teammates, things are dicier. The window to cash in is shoort.dddddddddddd For those that turn pro but dont have a breakthrough moment at the games, any potential windfall can be meager by comparison to those who repeatedly have their triumphs broadcast into living rooms across the world. How much? At least $1 million in the first year after the games.When youre No. 1 or No. 2 its absolutely something you should do, said agent Sheryl Shade, who has spent more than 20 years representing high-profile Olympic athletes, including 2008 all-around champion Nastia Liukin and four-time medalist Shawn Johnson. When youre No. 5, the opportunity might not be there.Liukin and Johnson became household names after they combined for eight medals in Beijing in 2008, each appearing on Dancing With The Stars and carving out comfortable post-Olympic lifestyles while also saving enough money to pay for college. Liukin just completed her degree at NYU; Johnson is working toward one of her own.Yet the risk/reward balance is better measured by the path of one of their Olympic teammates.Bridget Sloan earned a team silver in Beijing as 16-year-old then captured the all-around title at the 2009 world championships -- a big accomplishment, but not one thats going to have agents trying to friend her on Facebook in a non-Olympic year. Her parents told her she could explore her options. She just needed to be sure she was going to earn enough to pay for college ... twice.I mean, I was never a superstar. I was good but Id gone to the Olympics just once, Sloan said. In the real world, I was still a 17-year-old. You have to look at the big picture. At 17 thats really hard to do.So she remained an amateur, and the only payment she ever received was the 2008 Jeep Patriot her parents paid for as a reward for a world title. Her bid to make the 2012 Olympic team ended due to a hand injury at Olympic Trials, though she hardly pouted. Sloan practically sprinted to Gainesville, Florida, where she led the Gators to three NCAA titles while earning two all-around crowns for herself before graduating this spring.Looking back, Sloan believes turning pro would have been the biggest mistake of my life even though she understands not accepting money put her parents on the hook for a large portion of the financial burden it takes to train at the elite level, a bill that can soar into the tens of thousands a year in coaching fees and travel costs. Then again, it can look like wise investment considering the value of a college gymnastics scholarship can reach well into six figures.The futures for this years team are still forming. Kocian, an 18-year-old Texan, says she has no plans to change her mind on joining UCLA, no matter how high she flies in Rio. Hernandez, a 16-year-old from New Jersey, verbally committed to Florida but has several years before shell be heading to college and is in no hurry to figure out her path until after the Olympics.Im sure maybe well talk about it soon but I havent given any thought into the future, Hernandez said after Olympic Trials.Smart move. The vast majority of the pre-Olympic marketing money has already been spent. The coffers may open, however, if Hernandez makes the podium multiple times in Rio. If that happens, the crossroads await. ' ' '