Mississippi State, Florida State lead first College Football Playoff rankings

The College Football Playoff selection committee made history on Tuesday with the release of its first top 25 rankings. The list included a top four of

The College Football Playoff selection committee made history on Tuesday with the release of its first top 25 rankings. The list included a top four of Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and Ole Miss, which, if the season ended today, would make up the four-team playoff.

Here are three thoughts on the the initial rankings:

1. Avert your eyes, SEC haters

The selection committee’s first rankings features not two, but three SEC teams among the top four: No. 1 Mississippi State, No. 3 Auburn and No. 4 Ole Miss. All three SEC teams hail from the SEC West, and the Tigers and Rebels each have one loss. Of course, that top four will likely change in the coming weeks. Ole Miss plays Auburn this weekend, and the Rebels and Bulldogs face off at the end of the regular season.

2. The selection committee didn’t give much credit to Notre Dame

The Irish, who sit 6-1 with a lone loss at No. 2 Florida State, came in at No. 10 in the committee’s rankings. They were sixth in the latest AP poll. Notre Dame has only two games remaining against teams in the playoff’s current rankings: No. 16 Arizona State and No. 25 Louisville.

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3. The Big 12 enjoyed a favorable showing in the selection committee’s rankings 

TCU (No. 7) and Kansas State (No. 9) both slid into the top 10. Because each of its teams boasts at least one loss, the Big 12 is one league that might be on the outside looking in for a spot in the four-team playoff. But with two one-loss teams sitting in the committee’s current top four, the Horned Frogs and Wildcats might not be dead yet.

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The entire top 25 is below:

1. Mississippi State

2. Florida State

3. Auburn

4. Ole Miss

5. Oregon

6. Alabama

7. TCU

8. Michigan State

9. Kansas State

10. Notre Dame

11. Georgia

12. Arizona

13. Baylor

14. Arizona State

15. Nebraska

16. Ohio State

17. Utah

18. Oklahoma

19. LSU

20. West Virginia

21. Clemson

22. UCLA

23. East Carolina

24. Duke

25. Louisville