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Come Fan with UsTuesday, August 4, 2026

If the season ended right now, here’s who we’d put in the College Football Playoff

Every week during the season, a bunch of us vote on which four teams we’d put in the Playoff at this exact second. We could predict what it’ll look like in January, but what’s the fun in that?

Above, SB Nation Selection Committee host Ryan Nanni is joined by Luke Zimmermann to explain and critique our group rankings for this week, which are as follows:

WEEK 2 No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4
Alex Kirshner Bama Clemson FSU Houston
Bill Connelly Bama Ohio State FSU Houston
Bud Elliott Bama Clemson FSU Ohio State
Dan Rubenstein Bama Ohio State Michigan FSU
Godfrey, Steven Bama Houston Texas FSU
Jason Kirk Bama FSU Ohio State Houston
Jeanna Thomas Bama Clemson Ohio State FSU
Luke Zimmermann Bama Wisconsin Texas FSU
Matt Brown Bama FSU Houston Colorado
Morgan Moriarty Bama FSU Clemson Ohio State
Ryan Nanni Bama Houston FSU Texas
Sarah Hardy Bama FSU Clemson Houston
Spencer Hall Bama FSU Clemson Ohio State
Wescott Eberts Bama Texas Houston FSU

Which gives us this for now:

And that will almost certainly change next week, and all weeks thereafter.

Alabama is the obvious choice for a unanimous No. 1, having flattened the defending Pac-12 South and Conference USA champions with ease.

I agree with Florida State at No. 2 after the Noles overcame a depleted offensive line and QB inexperience to race past Ole Miss in Week 1.

Clemson at No. 3 seems based largely on how good we believe the Tigers to be, rather than what they’ve proved on the field so far this year, which is fine. Remember that the actual Playoff committee’s members are instructed to select the four best teams, not the four most deserving teams.

Houston’s an interesting choice for No. 4, and you can make the case, as Luke does, that UH’s win over Oklahoma was the best of the season so far.

Ohio State appears to be the first team out, after Week 2, but that’ll change rapidly if OSU can match Houston’s win over OU, and do it in Norman.

Who’s your top four right now?

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