CFP Rankings: Could 4 SEC teams be ranked ahead of Ohio State?

The first CFP rankings will soon be released and it is possible four SEC teams could be ranked ahead of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

When the first College Football Playoff Committee releases their first rankings you can expect the top teams will be similar to those in the AP Poll. However, there is a chance Ohio State won’t be No. 8. The committee may put any one of three teams ranked behind the Buckeyes in the AP Poll ahead of them.

Remember, it was widely reported last season that a big reason the CFP Committee didn’t include Ohio State in the playoff was because of the bad loss to Iowa. The Buckeyes already have a bad loss to the Purdue Boilermakers and none of the teams ranked 9-11 in the AP have one.

Central Florida is ranked No. 9 and is undefeated. No. 10 Washington State’s only loss was to USC, 39-26 on the road. And the Cougars defeated Oregon and Stanford when they were ranked, along with No. 16 Utah.

The Kentucky Wildcats are ranked No. 11 in the AP and their only loss was 20-14 in OT at No. 25 Texas A&M. Their signature win was against the No. 13 ranked Florida Gators who defeated LSU.

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At the top of the rankings it will be Alabama and Clemson which is a no brainer because the two teams are playing the best football in the country. I just wonder if the committee wouldn’t put the Tigers No. 1 because they have played a stronger schedule so far. It really doesn’t matter what order they are ranked though.

Notre Dame will be No. 3 and deservedly so. The Irish are undefeated and have the best win so far this season.

I think No. 4 LSU and No. 5 Michigan may be flipped in the CFP rankings. The Tigers have a signature win over the Georgia Bulldogs but their loss was to the Florida Gators. The Wolverines’ only loss was to the Irish.

Georgia and Oklahoma will probably hold down the next two spots.

The only other team I see who I see could possibly get into the playoff mix at some point is the West Virginia Mountaineers. They have a chance of moving up from No. 12 if they can pull off wins over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas down the stretch. Not likely to happen, but the Mountaineers are a team to keep your eye on.

Well, we will soon see who the College Football Playoff Committee thinks are the top teams in the country, and in what order they place them.

I’m most looking forward to see if the Ohio State Buckeyes are No. 8 in the CFP rankings like they are in the AP Poll, or if the committee is already holding their bad loss against them.