The College Football Playoff Committee released the first Top-25 rankings of the season on Tuesday. While the 12 teams that would get into the postseason all look like solid picks, the order is bound to continue to shake up based on how things go down the stretch of the rest of the regular season and conference championship games.
Take a look below at both the Top-25, as well as what the current bracket would like like for the 12-team field.
Here are a few of the things that stuck out to me in the rankings.
No. 11 Alabama vs. No. 6 Texas would be a spectacular first-round matchup
This is just one of the reasons why having a college football bracket like this rules. Alabama lost at home to Texas last season, but haven’t played this season with both as members of the SEC. The current scenario would call for a first-round matchup between two powerhouses football schools, with the winner going on to play a potentially undefeated Miami team. Awesome stuff.
Boise State and Big 12 battling for a bye, while 5-seed has a great path to Final Four
The Big 12 continues to cannibalize itself. BYU is the current favorite to win, and despite being ranked ninth, would get the 4-seed and a bye in the bracket. However, Boise State has just one loss, and it was a narrow road loss to No. 1 Oregon. If the Broncos run the table the rest of the way, it’s not out of the question that they wind up with the bye, and the Big 12 champ is the one playing with the 12-seed.
There’s a good chance that we see a 12-0 Oregon face an 11-1 Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship in what would be an epic rematch. There’s also a very good chance that the loser of that game winds up the 5-seed in the bracket. While playing in the first-round wouldn’t be ideal for either team, it also comes with a benefit. There’s a good chance that the first two games would be against Boise State and the Big 12 champ, creating a pretty simple path to the Final Four. Sure, Georgia would love to have a bye, but that second-round game against Penn State or Notre Dame is much tougher than what the 5-seed would need to do to advance.
What in the world are Washington State and Missouri doing here?
Washington State is 7-1 with a solid win over Washington, but the schedule has been pretty soft. Missouri is showing just how highly the committee thinks of the SEC, and the 6-2 Tigers have no business sniffing the Top-25. Missouri has really struggled at times, and is coming off being shutout by Alabama. It won’t matter in the end, as neither of these teams will reach the CFP. But it is interesting to see where the committee placed them.
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