The first College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday night, and Ohio State is No. 1. Also inside the four-team bracket are No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Florida State.
This is the final year of the four-team playoff, as the bracket will expand to 12 teams next year and there will be four rounds of playoffs rather than two.
Each week at Sporting News, we will take a look at what a 12-team playoff would look like using the selection committee’s rankings.
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What a 12-team playoff bracket would look like
A 12-team field would be made up of the six highest ranked conference champions and the next six highest ranked teams. Next year, that will likely change to five conference champions and seven at-large teams given the essential dissolution of the Pac-12. For the purposes of this exercise, we will use the 6/6 model.
The top four seeds are the four highest conference champions, and they receive byes into the quarterfinals.
So what would the bracket look like if the field was unveiled today?
Here would be the first-round matchups.
No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 Michigan
Tulane beat USC in the Cotton Bowl last season. Now it would get a win-or-go-home shot against Michigan at the Big House. The Wolverines missed out on a bye by virtue of not being the Big Ten champ, which at this point is No. 1 Ohio State. These two teams have not met in over 50 years.
Winner gets No. 4 Washington
No. 11 Penn State at No. 6 Oregon
Penn State's defense would have its hands full with quarterback Bo Nix in what will be a future Big Ten conference matchup. Oregon has the more complete team and would be favored to take on the team it routed in the first College Football Playoff game ever.
Winner gets No. 3 Florida State
No. 10 Ole Miss at No. 7 Texas
Can we get Arch Manning to see a few snaps in this one? This one features a battle of former Nick Saban offensive coordinators in Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss and Steve Sarkisian from Texas. The winner gets to play Saban's new nemesis.
Winner gets No. 2 Georgia
No. 9 Oklahoma at No. 8 Alabama
Winner gets No. 1 Ohio State
A pair of bluebloods square off for the right to face another in the quarterfinals. The two have only played two on-campus games in history, in 2002 and 2003. Alabama won both matchups.
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Seeds for a 12-team playoff
Here are the seeds for a 12-team playoff based on the current rankings and conference standings.
No. 1 seed Ohio State (8-0, Big Ten champ) – Ohio State gets rewarded for having the best resume to this point with wins at Notre Dame and over Penn State. The winner of the clash with Michigan on Nov. 25 will determine the Big Ten champ and likely the No. 1 seed in the field.
No. 2 seed Georgia (8-0, SEC champ) – No Brock Bowers, no problem for the two-time defending national champions, at least against Florida. The Bulldogs ripped off 36 straight points after giving up an opening touchdown en route to a 43-20 win at Jacksonville. The Bulldogs will be tested the next three weeks by No. 12 Missouri, No. 10 Ole Miss and No. 17 Tennessee.
No. 3 seed Florida State (8-0, ACC champ) – Florida State should be favored in every game the rest of the way, including the ACC championship game and has a 21-point non-conference win against LSU in its back pocket should an unexpected loss occur. Since an overtime escape at Clemson, FSU has won its next four games by an average of 25.8 points.
No. 4 seed Washington (8-0, Pac-12 champ) – The Huskies have let their guard down a bit after its Game-Of-The-Year win over Oregon, struggling against Arizona State and Stanford in back-to-back weeks. Three straight ranked opponents await in USC, Utah and Oregon State.
No. 5 seed Michigan (8-0, at-large) – Michigan has been way more interesting off the field this season than on, where it has methodically run over every overmatched opponent by an average of 34.8 points per game. Michigan’s highest-ranked opponent according to the Sagarin ratings is No. 45 Minnesota. Off the field, illegal sign-stealing allegations are dominating the headlines.
No. 6 seed Oregon (7-1, at-large) – The Ducks look like the best one-loss team in the nation and would likely be favored in a rematch with Washington in the Pac-12 title game. Bo Nix is climbing up Heisman lists and Oregon has a legit defense to go with its offense.
No. 7 seed Texas (7-1, Big 12 champ) – The Longhorns are trying to win their first Big 12 title since 2009 on their way out the door. An injury to quarterback Quinn Ewers makes that a little tricky as a hot Kansas State comes to town this week.
No. 8 seed Alabama (7-1, at-large) – The SEC West is up for grabs this weekend against LSU, and expect the Tide to grab it. Quarterback Jalen Milroe has made nice progress throughout the season and the Tide owe the Tigers one after last season’s 32-31 overtime loss in Baton Rouge.
No. 9 seed Oklahoma (7-1, at-large) – The Sooners saw their undefeated season float away when Dillon Gabriel’s mini-Hail Mary from the Kansas 23-yard line fell incomplete in a 38-33 loss. Oklahoma still owns a quality win over Texas and controls its own destiny to reach the Big 12 title game.
No. 10 seed Ole Miss (7-1, at-large) – Hard to figure out the Rebels, with an LSU win under its belt, but also close calls with Arkansas and Auburn. They can move up a few sidelines with an upset of Georgia in two weeks.
No. 11 seed Penn State (7-1, at-large) – Like Michigan, Penn State basically has a two-game schedule, and it lost its first in uninspiring fashion at Ohio State. The Lions’ defense is elite, but its offense is still finding its way. Over the last two seasons, PSU is 0-3 vs. Ohio State and Michigan, 18-0 against everyone else.
No. 12 seed Tulane (7-1, AAC champ) – The Green Wave gets the final seed as the champs of the American Athletic Conference. Air Force is unbeaten in the Mountain West, but the committee likes Tulane's resume thus far. Remember Tulane won the Cotton Bowl last season.
