How to break down the College Football Playoff pecking order

— -- We're almost at the halfway point of the season, the time of year when the top teams in the country start to separate by rising to the top of their conference standings.

Clemson has emerged as the clear frontrunner to win the ACC, Washington has proven to be the team to beat in the Pac-12, and Alabama is still ... Alabama. In the Big Ten, the Ohio State-Michigan game can't get here soon enough, and the Big 12 is simply playing from behind, once again depending upon a backloaded league schedule to impress the selection committee when it matters most.

In the Group of 5, Houston's top four dreams were shattered on Saturday with an American Athletic Conference West Division loss to Navy.

Conference play has that effect, as teams knock each other out of the postseason picture and undefeated ranked teams -- gasp! -- lose. There are still 11 undefeated teams remaining, including nine from the Power 5 conferences. At this point last year, there were 16 unbeaten teams, and only one - Clemson - stayed that way.

Can this year's Power 5 frontrunners stay the course until Dec. 4 when the College Football Playoff selection committee releases its final ranking? The sport has a tendency to sort itself out.

In many ways, it already has.

Here's a closer look at the College Football Playoff pecking order heading into Week 7. For more, watch tonight's College Football Playoff: Top 25 (ESPN, 7 p.m. ET).

Tier I: Alabama stands alone

Until proven otherwise, Alabama remains king. Not even Ole Miss, which was the only team to beat the Tide in each of the past two seasons, was able to finish the job on its home turf this year. Here's the tricky part: Alabama is beginning its toughest three-game stretch of any season since 2005, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information. The Tide will travel to Tennessee this weekend, come home to face Texas A&M on Oct. 22, then have a bye week to prepare for a road trip to LSU on Nov. 5.

According to ESPN's Sharon Katz, an average FBS team would have a .05 percent chance to win all three games, which includes three opponents ranked in the top 12 of ESPN's Football Power Index (two on the road). Alabama isn't exactly average. ESPN's FPI gives the Tide a 29 percent chance to win its next three games.

If it does? Alabama stands alone -- again.