College Football Playoff Rankings: Committee loves big names like Ohio State, Alabama

It's good to be a big brand...or an SEC team. That's what the College Football Playoff committee signaled with their penultimate rankings ahead of Conference Championship Weekend.

The latest rankings featured expected high rankings for Oregon, Texas, Penn State and Notre Dame. But Georgia and Ohio State effectively got a pass for late season hiccups while the Alabama Crimson Tide got the blue blood treatment.

Let's look at the rankings in all their glory.

College Football Playoff rankings ahead of conference championship games

1. Oregon Ducks
2. Texas Longhorns
3. Penn State Nittany Lions
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
5. Georgia Bulldogs
6. Ohio State Buckeyes
7. Tennessee Volunteers
8. SMU Mustangs
9. Indiana Hoosiers
10. Boise State Broncos
11. Alabama Crimson Tide
12. Miami Hurricanes
13. Ole Miss Rebels
14. South Carolina Gamecocks
15. Arizona State Sun Devils
16. Iowa State Cyclones
17. Clemson Tigers
18. BYU Cougars
19. Missouri Tigers
20. UNLV Rebels
21. Illinois Fighting Illini
22. Syracuse Orange
23. Colorado Buffaloes
24. Army Black Knights
25. Memphis Tigers

If we assume conference title game losses won't be heavily punished in the rankings, teams in the Top 11 can almost pencil in their participation in the playoff.

Alabama is the big winner in the No. 11 spot. While Arizona State or Iowa State will have to slot in at No. 12 depending on who wins the Big 12 title game. The only way for the Crimson Tide to be left out at this point is for Clemson to win the ACC Championship Game and steal a bid. A UNLV win over Boise State could also complicate life.

Arizona State are the big losers. Ranked at just No. 15 and behind multiple three loss SEC teams, the disrespect is obvious. That's what they get for not being a blue blood I guess.

So now we know how the bracket looks...

College Football Playoff bracket ahead of conference championship games

Oregon, Texas, SMU and Boise State take the top four seeds and the byes that come with them as presumptive conference champions.

Penn State comes in at No. 5 with a first round matchup against presumptive Big 12 champion Arizona State

Notre Dame can't get a first round bye because they're not in a conference, so they have to settle for No. 6. Their reward for a one-loss season is a first-round matchup with Alabama.

Georgia is projected to host Indiana while Tennessee and Ohio State would also meet in the first round.