The College Football Playoff selection committee unveiled its initial Top 25 rankings of the season Tuesday night, deeming undefeated Clemson the nation’s No. 1 team.
Two other unbeaten teams, LSU and Ohio State, were ranked Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. Once-beaten Alabama was pegged No. 4, ahead of eight undefeated teams.
The committee’s rankings, which will be updated weekly through the remainder of the regular season and conference championship games, will be closely watched because the top four teams as of Dec. 6 will qualify for the playoff to determine the national champion.
The rankings could change significantly as soon as next week. Two of the top four teams will meet Saturday night, when LSU plays at Alabama in an SEC West showdown. Clemson faces a key ACC test Saturday, hosting once-beaten Florida State.
Clemson earned the top spot in the initial rankings by impressing the selection committee with “the quality of their victories” — particularly a home win over Notre Dame — and a balanced attack that is “very strong on both sides of the ball,” committee chairman Jeff Long, Arkansas’ athletic director, said during the rankings-release show on ESPN.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, also on the show, cautioned against reading much into the initial rankings.
“I just think it’s a sign that we have had a great season to this point,” Swinney said. “I certainly think that we should be in the conversation, regardless of what the ranking is. (But) I don’t think anybody should be having a party over what the poll is.”
The committee ranked Notre Dame No. 5 despite its loss to Clemson.
The Big 12, which didn’t place a team in last season’s playoff, again was left out of the top four in the committee’s inaugural rankings this season. The committee rated Baylor at No. 6 and TCU at No. 8. Both are unbeaten, but strength of schedule again hurt them.
“Particularly Baylor has an explosive offense, and we’ve seen that, but I think the strength of schedule left us unsure of their true strength,” Long said.
The committee’s rankings differ from this week’s Associated Press poll on several notable counts. The AP poll ranks Ohio State No. 1, Baylor No. 2, Clemson No. 3, LSU No. 4 and Alabama No. 7.
Based on last season — the first season of the playoff — the committee’s initial rankings may have little bearing on which teams ultimately wind up in the four-team field.
In the committee’s first rankings last season, the top four teams were Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and Ole Miss, in that order. Only one of those teams, Florida State, wound up making the four-team playoff. And the team that won last season’s national championship, Ohio State, was No. 16 in the committee’s initial rankings.
The 12-person selection committee includes current athletic directors, former coaches, a former U.S. Secretary of State (Condoleezza Rice), a former sportswriter and others.
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