Clemson, LSU 1-2 in first list

Clemson, LSU, Ohio State and Alabama are the top four teams in the first College Football Playoff selection committee rankings.

Notre Dame was fifth, and Baylor was sixth.

Clemson, LSU and Ohio State are among 10 unbeaten teams in FBS, nearly quadruple the number there was last season, when the committee started ranking teams. Alabama and Notre Dame each have one loss.

Memphis was the highest ranked team from a Group of Five conference at No. 13.

Last year, the top four teams in the first playoff rankings were Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and Mississippi. Only the Seminoles reached the playoff. Ohio State, the eventual national champion, was 16th in the first rankings.

The committee really warmed up to Alabama.

The Crimson Tide lost to Mississippi in September and then Florida pounded Ole Miss in Gainesville. But the Tide landed in playoff position, while Florida was 10th and Ole Miss was 18th.

“Alabama from our point of view had a stronger schedule in the games they have won,” said selection committee chairman Jeff Long, the athletic director at Arkansas. “They have three wins against teams with better than .500 records. They’re close even though they may be separated by a number of ranking spots.”

The Big 12 has four teams (Baylor, No. 8 TCU, No. 14 Oklahoma State and No. 15 Oklahoma) in the top 15 and they all play each other in November.

Long said it was difficult to judge the strength of those teams because their big games are still to come. The good news for the Power Five conference that got left out of last season’s final four is all of those teams are in good shape to get in the playoff if they win out.

The committee really liked Notre Dame’s twopoint loss at Clemson, and it will keep the Irish in the playoff hunt as long as they keep winning.

Notre Dame plays Stanford in the regular-season finale, which could give it a leg up on the Pac-12. The Irish have already beaten USC. Could an 11-1 Notre Dame trump an 11-1 Big 12 champion? That might be the Notre Dame’s path to the playoff.

The Pac-12 is on the outside looking in with No. 11 Stanford (7-1) and No. 12 Utah (7-1) the highest ranked teams.