A season full of surprises didn't yield many when the first rankings for college football's new 12-team playoff were released Tuesday.
Undefeated Oregon State received the highest amount.
The selection committee rated Ohio State slightly higher than Georgia in the top 25, the first of six weekly polls conducted by the committee.
Other than that, the panel's top 12 were exactly the same as the top 12 in the latest Associated Press poll. It's been in flux almost every week thanks to a series of upsets that left the SEC, the strongest of all conferences, without a single undefeated team.
The Associated Press and College Football Playoff polls are almost a mirror image, with Alabama in the No. 11 spot if games are decided this week despite two losses, as well as Mountain West Conference leader Boise State. It was meant to be. They will finish 12th and automatically earn a spot as the conference's fifth-place champion.
“In summary, Boise State is a great team,” said Michigan State Athletic Director Ward Manuel, who chairs the selection committee.
Maunell explained that Ohio State is ranked No. 2 because its only loss was to Oregon State by one point.
The Buckeyes and No. 3 Bulldogs are rated higher than undefeated Miami, likely because of their much tougher schedules than the No. 4 Canes.
“As far as considering two great teams, we are divided,” Manuel said.
Rankings will be published weekly until December 8th, and the final list will determine playoff spots.
They begin Dec. 20 and 21, with No. 5 through 12 seeds playing at the higher seed's home field, and conclude with the national title game in Atlanta on Jan. 20.
Rankings do not directly correlate to where a team falls within the bracket.
The top four teams in the conference will earn first-round byes. According to this ranking, Oregon (No. 1), Georgia (No. 3), Miami (No. 4) and BYU (No. 9).
Although the committee chose Alabama over a handful of one-loss teams, the strength of the Tide's schedule clearly shows that they have a strong lead over No. 13 SMU (ACC), No. 17 Iowa State (Big 12), and No. 18 Pitt (ACC). ), which helped them leapfrog ahead of other teams. ), who play in a weaker conference.
The remaining teams in the hypothetical Week 1 slot and their rankings: No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 8 Indiana, and No. 10 Notre Dame.
No. 13 SMU was eliminated first, but Army, which led the American Athletic Conference with an 8-0 record, barely made it into the rankings at No. 25.
Based on this week's rankings, what will the first round matchup look like?
Because ESPN pays billions of dollars to televise these games, it has exclusive rights to announce the standings and fills its programs with analysis and references to “America Finally Figures Out,” which is a sign of the election. It's a nod to the opening rankings, which will be announced in the evening.
The network chose to fill out the brackets as they went along, which made things a bit confusing – the second-place team actually getting the third-place seed, etc.
However, these first round matches are as follows (with seeding, not ranking):
No. 12 Boise State vs. No. 5 Ohio State: This will be the Broncos' biggest postseason game since defeating Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.
No. 11 Alabama vs. No. 5 Texas: The Longhorns beat Bama in 2023, shattering the Tide's myth of invincibility.
No. 10 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Penn State: I feel like we need Keith Jackson on this one. Does anyone remember the 1992 Snow Bowl?
No. 9 Indiana vs. No. 8 Tennessee: The Hoosiers' big-time (football) appearance will come in front of 100,000 people on Rocky Top.
What will change after this week?
LSU is ranked No. 15 and will play Alabama on Saturday in what will be a repechage game for the losers.
Georgia plays No. 17 Ole Miss again this week. The Rebels' two losses were both by field goals, against Kentucky and LSU.
Indiana hosts Michigan State and is favored at 12 1/2, gaining momentum heading into a matchup with Ohio State on Nov. 23.
