The College Football Playoff committee’s first 25-team ranking of the 2016 season is here, summing up the first two-thirds of the season and setting the table for the final month or so.
2016 College Football Playoff rankings: 2 SEC teams in top 4 of season’s 1st top 25
The committee’s released the first top 25 ranking of the year that actually matters. Here’s the whole thing and what to know.
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Coming in there were simple arguments in favor of Alabama, Clemson, and Michigan for the No. 1 spot.
The Tigers have beaten the best-looking list of opponents (4-0 against the top 40 teams in the Massey Composite, 2-0 against top-10 teams) and had a few close calls. The Wolverines have a hilarious average margin of victory (35 points, best in the country) against a schedule that’s been less weak than predicted, and the Tide have been mostly dominant against a pretty solid schedule.
It was also clear that some combination of Louisville, Ohio State, Texas A&M, and Washington would follow.
Here’s the full top 25 heading into Week 10, with an update coming each Tuesday night until selection Sunday.
(Yes, that means there will be things of college football importance happening during the howling middle of Election Night. Hhave fun!).
| Rank | Conference | Week 9 result | Next opponent | |
| 1 | Alabama, 8-0 | SEC | Bye | at LSU |
| 2 | Clemson, 8-0 | ACC | 37-34 W at FSU | vs. Syracuse |
| 3 | Michigan, 8-0 | Big Ten | 32-23 W at Michigan State | vs. Maryland |
| 4 | Texas A&M, 7-1 | SEC | 52-10 vs. NMSU | at Mississippi State |
| 5 | Washington, 8-0 | Pac-12 | 31-24 W at Utah | at Cal |
| 6 | Ohio State, 7-1 | Big Ten | 24-20 W vs. Northwestern | vs. Nebraska |
| 7 | Louisville, 7-1 | ACC | 32-25 W at Virginia | at Boston College |
| 8 | Wisconsin, 6-2 | Big Ten | 23-17 W vs. Nebraska | at Northwestern |
| 9 | Auburn, 6-2 | SEC | 40-29 W at Ole Miss | vs. Vanderbilt |
| 10 | Nebraska, 7-1 | Big Ten | 23-17 L at Wisconsin | at Ohio State |
| 11 | Florida, 6-1 | SEC | 24-10 W vs. Georgia | at Arkansas |
| 12 | Penn State, 6-2 | Big Ten | 62-24 W at Purdue | vs. Iowa |
| 13 | LSU, 5-2 | SEC | Bye | vs. Alabama |
| 14 | Oklahoma, 6-2 | Big 12 | 56-3 W vs. Kansas | at Iowa State |
| 15 | Colorado, 6-2 | Pac-12 | Bye | vs. UCLA |
| 16 | Utah, 7-2 | Pac-12 | 31-24 L vs. Washington | Bye |
| 17 | Baylor, 6-1 | Big 12 | 35-34 L at Texas | vs. TCU |
| 18 | Oklahoma State, 6-2 | Big 12 | 37-20 W vs. WVU | at Kansas State |
| 19 | Virginia Tech, 6-2 | ACC | 39-36 W at Pitt | at Duke |
| 20 | West Virginia, 6-1 | Big 12 | 37-20 L at Oklahoma State | vs. Kansas |
| 21 | North Carolina, 6-2 | ACC | Bye | vs. Georgia Tech |
| 22 | Florida State, 5-3 | ACC | 37-34 L vs. Clemson | at NC State |
| 23 | Western Michigan, 8-0 | MAC | Bye | at Ball State |
| 24 | Boise State, 7-1 | Mountain West | 30-28 L at Wyoming | vs. San Jose State |
| 25 | Washington State, 6-2 | Pac-12 | 35-31 W at Oregon State | vs. Arizona |
The big surprise: Texas A&M at No. 4 over unbeaten Washington. Here’s one explanation, though I don’t know exactly what metric ESPN (a Playoff partner) is using here:
We’ll follow with more analysis first thing Wednesday morning.
Remember, there’s still a long way to go.
Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn, and Ole Miss were in the first-ever Playoff top four in 2014, and only FSU made the actual Playoff.
Last year, the initial top four included 7-0 LSU, which would finish the regular season 8-3.
The committee starts its whole board from scratch each week, reevaluating each team’s entire schedule.
One seemingly insignificant game can alter things quite a bit. We saw this in 2014, when Baylor jumped TCU in the final rankings after beating Kansas State, and thus drawing near enough in strength of schedule for the Bears’ previous win over the Horned Frogs to matter. (If that sounds like I’m making it up, no, that’s exactly how the committee described their thought process. It makes sense to me.)
Still, the closer you are to the top, the better.
(Duh.)
Alabama, Clemson, and Michigan State were all top-seven teams that made it into the final four, while Oklahoma climbed from No. 15.
In 2014, Oregon and Alabama made it in from the Week 10 top six, while Ohio State stormed up from No. 16.
This also affects more than just the Playoff.
The committee also matches up the rest of the New Year’s Six bowls. This year, that means the Cotton, Orange, Rose, and Sugar.
The Rose is simple: the top non-Playoff Big Ten team vs. the top non-Playoff Pac-12 team. Same for the Sugar with the Big 12 and SEC.
The Orange pairs the top non-Playoff ACC team against the top Big Ten or SEC team not in any of the above games. (Notre Dame also has a tie to this game, but the Irish might not be making any bowls this year, period.)
The Cotton is left to take the top mid-major conference champion and the highest-ranking at-large from any conference.
Based on that, here’s what our NY6 would look like if the season ended right now:
Peach Bowl: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Texas A&M
Fiesta Bowl: No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Michigan
Rose Bowl: No. 5 Washington vs. No. 6 Ohio State
Sugar Bowl: No. 9 Auburn vs. No. 14 Oklahoma
Orange Bowl: No. 7 Louisville vs. No. 8 Wisconsin
Cotton Bowl: No. 10 Nebraska vs. No. 23 Western Michigan
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