LEAD DOGS: GEORGIA IS CFP’S NO. 1

Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson also in top 4

The Bulldogs are the pick over Alabama for the top seed by the College Football Playoff committee in its initial ranking.

NEW YORK — Georgia, Alabama, Notre Dame and Clemson are the top four teams in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season.

Oklahoma and Ohio State were the next two in the selection committee’s initial top 25, released Tuesday night. The committee will re-rank the teams each week through Dec. 3, when it will place the top four in the national semifinals, which this season will be played in the Rose and Sugar bowls on New Year’s Day.

The semifinal winners will meet for the national championship in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 8.

Georgia and Alabama, Southeastern Conference rivals, are both undefeated and have been dominating their competition. The Bulldogs’ one close game was at Notre Dame in September, a 20-19 victory.

The Fighting Irish (7-1) have not lost since, including blowouts of Michigan State, Southern California and North Carolina State.

Clemson (7-1), the defending national champion, and Alabama have been ranked in the initial top four of the by the selection committee each of the last three seasons. The Tigers and Tide played for the last two national titles, with each winning one.

The rest of the top 10 was Penn State in seventh, followed by TCU. No. 9 Wisconsin and No. 10 Miami are both undefeated but with no marquee victories.

WHO’S HOT? Joshua Jackson, Iowa cornerback, is a 6-foot-1 junior who has that NFL length and he gets his hands on a lot of passes. In his first season as a starter, Jackson leads the nation in passes defended, averaging 2.13 per game. That includes two interceptions and 15 passes broken up.

Jackson is coming off one of his best games of the season, according to Pro Football Focus . Minnesota targeted Jackson seven times last

week and it resulted in one completion for 9 yards.

WHO’S NOT? Josh Rosen, QB, UCLA, is being asked to carry a medicore Bruins team — and it seems to be taking a toll. The junior has three touchdown passes and three interceptions in his last three games and has not cracked 60 percent in completions in any of those games. In a 44-23 loss to Washington, Rosen was 12 for 21 for a season-low 93 yards before being pulled because of what appeared to be a finger injury that was not serious. Rosen is still likely to be a first-round draft pick in April if he comes out early, but this looks like another season where his talents won’t be optimized. IN LONG RELIEF: Arizona freshman Lucas Havrisik — the team’s backup kicker — was named the Pac-12 special teams player of the week after he kicked a 57-yard field goal against Washington State last weekend.

That’s the longest in the nation this season, and it tied a school record held by three previous Wildcats.