Buckeyes top playoff rankings

Penn St. surprises at No. 4 position; LSU, Alabama 2-3

Ohio State grabbed the top spot Tuesday night in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2019-20 season.

The Buckeyes (8-0) had never been ranked higher than No. 2 in the playoff rankings.

LSU (8-0) took the No. 2 spot despite having victories over two top 12 teams. The Tigers will face No. 3 Alabama (8-0) on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, with the winner taking command in the SEC West division race.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was No. 4 Penn State (8-0), which bumped No. 5 Clemson (9-0) out of the top spot four. The Tigers are defending national champions, but a close win over struggling North Carolina and a weak ACC slate held Clemson back.

Georgia (7-1) was at No. 6 followed by a pair of Pac-12 teams in Oregon (8-1) and Utah (8-1).

Oklahoma (7-1) and Florida (7-2) rounded out the top 10.

Ohio State, Clemson and Alabama are the only schools that have been ranked in all 32 polls since the playoff’s inception in 2014.

This is the first of six weekly rankings released by the 13-member selection committee, with the final standings to be revealed Sunday, Dec. 8. Those rankings will determine the four playoff semifinalists along with the teams participating in the remainder of the New Year’s Six bowl games.

The two semifinals, which rotate annually, will take place in Atlanta at the Peach Bowl and in Glendale, Ariz., at the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 28.

The remaining New Year’s Six games will be hosted by the Cotton, Orange, Rose and Sugar bowls.