Clemson, LSU, Ohio State, Alabama top first playoff rankings

“If one team prevails, then we’ll have a great chance to be able to get somebody in”.

If it was up to College Football Playoff leaders, there would be no weekly ranking – only one at the end of the season. That four-game string would include wins over Clemson (currently ranked number one by the committee), plus Louisville, NC State and Boston College. This is essentially a playoff game because if Alabama loses their playoff hopes are pretty much crushed.

So if LSU is really the No. 2 team, and Florida lost in a tight battle 35-28 in the other Death Valley -and the Tigers needed a gimmicky trick play to get the win – then what’s with the No. 10 ranking? As a matter of fact, I had Clemson in my top four to begin the year and many people told me that I was letting my bias dictate my analysis.

CHICAGO – A few minutes after admonishing his starting quarterback and calling his action of flapping his arms in celebration after scoring a touchdown Saturday “unacceptable”, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly expressed some contrition for his own action of shoving assistant strength and conditioning coach David Grimes on the sideline during the game against Temple.

Let’s face it, this is the first playoff poll of the year, and there’s still a lot of football to be played. “It came down to evaluating their resumes, who’ve they’ve beaten and how they’ve played in those games”. They haven’t played anybody yet – and in TCU’s case, it has already dodged a couple bullets – but it still feels odd that unbeaten TCU and Baylor sit behind Alabama after what happened last season.

Because, at the end of the day, despite treating 18-22-year-old athletes as amateurs, college football is a business.

Obviously the Pac-12 and the Big 12, two of the Big Five conferences, are on the outside looking in. Memphis’s strength of schedule is worse than most if not all of the teams competing right now for the playoff, but Memphis might have the best win between Baylor, TCU, and Michigan State. Don’t forget, Ohio State was No. 16 in the initial poll last season and emerged as national champions in the inaugural College Football Playoff. Or what if Ohio State or Michigan State finishes as an undefeated conference champ and the other has just the one quality loss? They also beat Western Michigan on the road.

Following the ranking of two Southeastern Conference teams-LSU and Alabama-at No. 2 and No. 4, respectively, there was much discussion about the strength of the league and which team, if any, will ultimately be its representative in the playoffs.

Meanwhile, Alabama, who suffered a tough setback to Ole Miss win Week 3, sneaks in as the No. 4 team in the first set of rankings. Not necessarily unbelievable, given that undefeated teams like TCU and Baylor have yet to play anyone of outcome.

Halgren aced the No. 5 Pines hole with an 8-iron. A team with one-loss can be better than a team with none.

Notre Dame was the first team left out in Tuesday’s rankings, coming in at No. 5. LSU has all five on its schedule, including wins over No. 10 Florida and No. 20 Mississippi State. The top remaining team with the highest ranked conference champion from the Group of 5 conferences (American, Conference US, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt) also will receive a spot. Understandably so, considering Alabama has a loss and they were favored ahead of eight unbeaten teams.

The Big Ten, at this stage in the season, seems positioned to be represented in the College Football Playoff.

It’s possible the conference could grab multiple spots in the field. Have you met 2014 Ohio State?

Baylor takes on the 3-4 Kansas State Wildcats on Thursday night in Manhattan. TCU 8-0 9. Iowa 8-0 10. Clemson won the national title with a 12-0 record in 1981.

– Oklahoma at Oklahoma State, November 28.