For weeks, No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Michigan have been considered early favorites to make this year’s playoff, the only question being whether Michigan or Clemson would settle into the No. 2 spot overall.
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The playoff committee went with the seemingly obvious choice in its top three choices, though placing Texas A&M at No. 4 will raise more than a few eyebrows throughout the country. Regardless, the Aggies have played well this season, their only loss coming to No. 1 Alabama. They also held the Tide to their lowest point total of the season, at 33.
Other schools just on the edge of making the playoff include undefeated No. 5 Washington and one-loss No. 6 Ohio State, followed by No. 7 Louisville. That doesn’t bode well for the Cardinals, who would likely need Clemson — which has already gone through the toughest portion of its schedule — to lose two of its remaining regular-season games to be considered for the playoff.
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2016 season:
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- Alabama 8-0 2. Clemson 8-0 3. Michigan 8-0 4. Texas A&M 7-1 5. Washington 8-0 6. Ohio State 7-1 7. Louisville 7-1 8. Wisconsin 6-2 9. Auburn 6-2 10. Nebraska 7-1 11. Florida 6-1 12. Penn State 6-2 13. LSU 6-2 14. Oklahoma 6-2 15. Colorado 6-2 16. Utah 7-2 17. Baylor 6-1 18. Oklahoma State 6-2 19. Virginia Tech 6-2 20. West Virginia 6-1 21. North Carolina 6-2 22. Florida State 5-3 23. Western Michigan 8-0 24. Boise State 7-1 25. Washington State 6-2
