Ohio State took the No. 1 spot in the first College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday night, while two-time defending national champion Georgia is right behind at No. 2.
In the current NCAA rankings, Michigan is holding the No. 3 spot amidst an ongoing NCAA investigation into sign-stealing allegations. Following closely, Florida State occupies the No. 4 position, and Washington rounds out the top five. Oregon is the highest-ranked team with a single loss, securing the No. 6 spot, while Texas, at No. 7, holds an advantage over Alabama due to their head-to-head victory over the Crimson Tide in a September matchup.
Boo Corrigan, the chair of the College Football Playoff (CFP) committee, justified Ohio State’s No. 1 ranking by citing their significant wins over Notre Dame and Penn State and the presence of impact players on their offensive roster. Corrigan emphasized that, in the committee’s assessment, Ohio State deserved the top spot in the rankings.
With five undefeated Power 5 teams entering the initial rankings, the key question revolved around how the committee would differentiate between them. It’s evident that the strength of schedule played a significant role in their decisions.
Boo Corrigan, chair of the College Football Playoff committee, explained, “As a group, the 13 of us in the room, we felt this was the order for the top four slots.”
When comparing Ohio State and Georgia, it’s clear that Ohio State has faced a much more challenging schedule, having secured two victories against top-15 teams, Penn State (No. 11) and Notre Dame (No. 15). In contrast, Georgia has yet to defeat a top-25 team and has a relatively weak strength of schedule, ranking at No. 100 according to ESPN metrics. The Bulldogs have only managed to beat two FBS teams with winning records. Football Playoff rankings
In the upcoming weeks, these metrics are likely to change as both teams enter the most demanding part of their schedules. Georgia will face tough opponents in No. 12 Missouri, No. 10 Ole Miss, and No. 17 Tennessee over the next three weeks. Similarly, Michigan has challenging games ahead, including No. 11 Penn State and the top-ranked No. 1 Ohio State.