Instead, Ohio State (8-0) took the No. 1 spot in the initial rankings, one spot ahead of No. 2 LSU (8-0) and No. 3 Alabama (8-0). The Tigers and Crimson Tide play Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in a “Game of the Century.”
MORE: What first set of rankings say about which teams will make Playoff
The other mild surprise was No. 4 Penn State (8-0) ahead of No. 5 Clemson (8-0). The Tigers are the defending national champion and on a 24-game win streak. Ohio State and Penn State play on Nov. 23. Georgia (7-1) is the highest-ranked one-loss team, at No. 6.
The College Football Playoff rankings will be released each Tuesday leading up to conference championship weekend, and the final rankings will be unveiled on Dec. 8.
The College Football Playoff semifinals will be on Dec. 28 at the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta and PlayStation Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. The CFP championship game will be Jan. 13 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
With that, the full Week 11 College Football Playoff rankings:
