-
Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
Unbeaten Oregon is the No. 1 team in the first rankings released by the College Football Playoff selection committee Tuesday.
The Ducks were followed by Ohio State, Georgia, Miami and Texas in the top five.
Penn State, Tennessee, Indiana, BYU, Notre Dame, Alabama and Boise State round out the top 12, which would compete in the newly expanded playoff at season’s end.
Because the top four seeds must be conference champions under the new CFP format, Oregon (Big Ten), Georgia (SEC), Miami (ACC) and BYU (Big 12) would receive first-round byes if the initial rankings were used for the 12-team bracket.
The first-round games would look like this: Boise State at Ohio State, Alabama at Texas, Notre Dame at Penn State and Indiana at Tennessee.
Ohio State remains the consensus betting favorite to win the national title at ESPN BET at +325, slightly ahead of Georgia and Oregon, both at +400. There were no significant changes to the odds to win the national title after the rankings were released.
The SEC and Big Ten each had four teams in the top 12. Undefeated BYU is the lone Big 12 program in the top 12, and unbeaten Miami is the only ACC team in the top 12 after Clemson suffered its second defeat last week, to Louisville at home.
Boise State, whose only loss was by three points at Oregon on Sept. 7, was the highest-ranked team from a Group of 5 conference.
SMU was No. 13 in the selection committee’s rankings, followed by Texas A&M, LSU, Ole Miss, Iowa State, Pittsburgh, Kansas State and Colorado.
Washington State, Louisville, Clemson, Missouri and unbeaten Army rounded out the top 25.
After 10 years with a four-team playoff, CFP selection committee chairman Warde Manuel said the group’s mission hasn’t changed with an expanded bracket.
“The process is the same,” Manuel said. “We rank the best 25 teams, one through 25, and that’s exactly what this process is designed to do from the very beginning.”
Ohio State, coming off last week’s impressive 20-13 victory at Penn State, got the nod for the No. 2 spot over Georgia, according to Manuel, because of its one-point loss at Oregon. The Bulldogs fell 41-34 at Alabama, after trailing by 28 points in the first half, and had closer-than-expected wins over Kentucky, Mississippi State and Florida.
Georgia defeated Texas 30-15 on the road on Oct. 19. The Longhorns were ranked No. 1 in the AP and coaches’ poll at the time.
“You know, we’re splitting hairs in terms of looking at two great teams,” said Manuel, Michigan’s athletic director.
Indiana, which is 9-0 for the first time in program history after beating Michigan State 47-10 last week, was one spot ahead of BYU. The Hoosiers haven’t yet beaten a ranked opponent and have played the 103rd-ranked schedule to this point. They will host defending national champion Michigan on Saturday and play at Ohio State on Nov. 23.
The Cougars are 8-0 heading into Saturday’s game at rival Utah. They won 18-15 at SMU and blasted Kansas State 38-9 at home.
“I mean Indiana, their strength of schedule is not as strong as BYU,” Manuel said. “But what Indiana has done on the field, when we look at those games, they’re winning by double digits, averaging 33 points a game more than their opponents. They’re solid on both sides, offensively and defensively. They’re just a really, really great team, and so is BYU.”
Army (8-0) would have to jump Boise State to earn an automatic selection as the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion. The Black Nights haven’t yet defeated a ranked opponent. They play Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium in New York City on Nov. 23.
The four first-round games will be played at the home campus of the higher-seeded teams on Dec. 20 and 21. The four quarterfinal games will be staged at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl presented by Prudential and Allstate Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
The two semifinal games will take place at the Capital One Orange Bowl and Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Jan. 9 and 10.
The CFP National Championship presented by AT&T is scheduled for Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
ESPN’s David Purdum contributed to this report.
