The College Football Playoff rankings are out and the playoff committee got some things right, but they also got some things totally wrong.
Ohio State is the No. 1 team in the College Football Playoff rankings with LSU, Alabama and Penn State, not Clemson rounding out the top four teams. It’s a little jarring to see the preseason No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 who is still undefeated and the defending champions on top of that check in at No. 5, but it’s not surprising considering the state of the ACC and the lack of tests for Dabo Swinney’s Tigers. They were a two-point conversion away from losing to North Carolina but have looked like a much better and consistent team since. They’ll be in the playoff if they win out so they can be upset today but they’ll use it as fuel and motivation to show the committee they’re wong.
1. Ohio State
2. LSU
3. Alabama
4. Penn State
5. Clemson
6. Georgia
7. Oregon
8. Utah
9. Oklahoma
10. Florida
11. Auburn
12. Baylor
13. Wisconsin
14. Michigan
15. Notre Dame
16. Kansas State
17. Minnesota
18. Iowa
19. Wake Forest
20. Cincinnati
21. Memphis
22. Boise State
23. Oklahoma State
24. Navy
25. SMU
- No Clemson?! The playoff committee had five teams to fill four slots with the reigning champion Tigers on the outside looking in due to a lack of quality wins and their resume in the eyes of the committee not as strong as the Nittany Lions. But Clemson doesn’t need to worry because if they run the table, the teams in front of them will cancel each other out and they’ll be in. In fact, Clemson is the biggest lock to make the playoff despite their No. 5 ranking right now.
- LSU had a chance to be the No. 1 team where they reside in the AP Top 25 but the AP voters don’t matter here and it appears the committee didn’t value their win over Texas as much as they value Ohio State’s resume. The Longhorns were a top-10 team at the time of the game but are unranked now. The shine on that win has been diminished but still have wins over Florida and Auburn, which are No. 10 and No. 11.
- Alabama was likely to be in this spot with Ohio State or LSU taking the top two spots. This just gives Nick Saban the opportunity to play the underdog card which isn’t something he gets to use often. It doesn’t matter they are No. 3 because if they beat LSU on Saturday, they’ll likely vault to the top spot with the best win on the season to this point. Alabama can’t get sneak in as a one-loss non-conference champion so if they lose, they won’t have the quality win remaining on their schedule to make up for this.
- Penn State has undefeated Minnesota this weekend and Ohio State in two weeks so they control their fate and could move up to No. 3 is Alabama loses next week. If Penn State’s only loss is a nail-biter to Ohio State, they might have a chance to give the Big Ten a second team.
- Utah and Oregon have a chance to give the Pac-12 a representative but need to root for Alabama to lose to LSU and Penn State to lose to Minnesota and Ohio State. Then they’d need Georgia to lose in the SEC Championship Game. They still have long odds but they have a chance, which is more than …
- Minnesota is undefeated but checked in at No. 17 and shows the committee doesn’t respect the Gophers. If they beat Penn State, they’ll have to take a significant leap. Baylor is another undefeated but came in at No. 12 but neither is a serious candidate for a playoff spot.
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