College Football Playoff Rankings: Clemson is No. 1, Alabama sneaks in at No. 4
The College Football Playoff selection committee released its first set of rankings, and it's safe to say the panel doesn't agree with the AP Top 25.
Clemson - who hasn't been ranked atop the AP poll since 1981 - opened the CFP rankings at No. 1.
LSU and defending national champion Ohio State are the runners up at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, while one-loss Alabama rounds out the top four.
Rankings emphasize strength of schedule, conference titles, and head-to-head games. It may appear as though the Big 12 was snubbed again, but the panel decided that Baylor and TCU haven't played a tough enough schedule to this point.
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clemson | 8-0 |
| 2 | LSU | 7-0 |
| 3 | Ohio State | 8-0 |
| 4 | Alabama | 7-1 |
This is how the rest of the Top 25 played out.
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Notre Dame | 7-1 |
| 6 | Baylor | 7-0 |
| 7 | Michigan State | 8-0 |
| 8 | TCU | 8-0 |
| 9 | Iowa | 8-0 |
| 10 | Florida | 7-1 |
| 11 | Stanford | 7-1 |
| 12 | Utah | 7-1 |
| 13 | Memphis | 8-0 |
| 14 | Oklahoma State | 8-0 |
| 15 | Oklahoma | 7-1 |
| 16 | Florida State | 7-1 |
| 17 | Michigan | 6-2 |
| 18 | Ole Miss | 7-2 |
| 19 | Texas A&M | 6-2 |
| 20 | Mississippi State | 6-2 |
| 21 | Northwestern | 6-2 |
| 22 | Temple | 7-1 |
| 23 | UCLA | 6-2 |
| 24 | Toledo | 7-0 |
| 25 | Houston | 8-0 |
Despite having three undefeated teams, the Big 12 was left out of the top four with No. 6 Baylor representing the conference's top team.
Memphis represents the highest-ranked team from outside the Power 5, coming in at 13th. It has a big game looming Nov. 14 against No. 25 Houston.
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