LSU and Notre Dame join two powers at top of playoff rankings.

Alabama and Clemson, the two kingdoms that have dominated the College Football Playoff concept by hoarding three of the first four titles and seven of the first 16 playoff spots, began this year at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on Tuesday night when the selection committee issued its first set of rankings.

Beneath the Crimson Tide (8-0) and Tigers (8-0), the 13-member committee used the first of its six weekly meetings this season to make things just slightly murky. As the committee of five athletic directors, five former coaches, one university president, one former player and one journalist placed LSU (7-1) at No. 3, ahead of Notre Dame (8-0) at No. 4, it repeated its knack of earlier years for rewarding beefy schedules. And it decreed that when Alabama visits LSU on Saturday night, the stadium will welcome two-thirds of the top three.

LSU began the season by clobbering Miami (5-3) and also won at Auburn (5-3) and at home against two fellow ranked teams, No. 6 Georgia (7-1) and No. 18 Mississippi State (5-3).

Notre Dame, meanwhile, owns the highest-ranked victim on this first list, having beaten No. 5 Michigan (7-1) in the season opener. But because none of the other Irish opponents have wound up ranked, LSU’s cluster of high-profile wins pushed it to No. 3, even as LSU lost to Florida, which sits at No. 11.

The first rankings had heady presences from some fresh teams. Behind No. 5 Michigan, No. 6 Georgia and No. 7 Oklahoma (7-1), No. 8 Washington State (7-1) certainly has been a mainstay in the rankings of the previous years, but not so much as the runaway leader from the Pac-12 Conference, as it turned out. The only other team from that league on the list is No. 15 Utah (6-2).

Further, Kentucky (7-1) made a lofty debut in the rankings at No. 9, with its wins at Florida and against Mississippi State, among ranked teams. The Wildcats, coming off a dramatic 15-14 win at Missouri that saw them rally from a 14-3 deficit in the final six minutes, actually wound up one slot ahead of 2014 champion and perennial presence Ohio State (7-1), which wound up at No. 10.

Coming off losses, Texas (6-2) is ranked No. 17 and Texas A&M (5-3) is No. 20.

The University of Houston (7-1) is not included in the CFP rankings after being No. 17 in this week’s Associated Press poll. Two Group of Five schools are ranked — Central Florida (7-0) at No. 12 and Fresno State (7-1) at No. 23.

The Cougars will have to keep winning and hope they get a shot at UCF in the American Athletic Conference championship game, with a New Year’s Six bowl potentially on the line in such a game.