First College Football Playoff Top 25 rankings released
The first College Football Playoff rankings for the 2019 season have just been revealed.
The College Football Playoff committee’s top 25 was just revealed during a live telecast on ESPN, and to no surprise, the initial rankings feature several SEC teams at the top of the list.
The debut 2019 College Football Playoff rankings
#1 Ohio State
#2 LSU
#3 Alabama
#4 Penn State
#5 Clemson
#6 Georgia
#7 Oregon
#8 Utah
#9 Oklahoma
#10 Florida
#11 Auburn
#12 Baylor
#13 Wisconsin
#14 Michigan
#15 Notre Dame
#16 Kansas State
#17 Minnesota
#18 Iowa
#19 Wake Forest
#20 Cincinnati
#21 Memphis
#22 Boise State
#23 Oklahoma State
#24 Navy
#25 SMU
Tonight’s poll reveal is the first of six rankings that will determine the next College Football Playoff. The sixth and final ranking is set to occur on Sunday, Dec. 8 following conference championship weekend.
Here is the full CFP rankings release schedule:
- 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 12
- 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19
- 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 26
- 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3
- 12-4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8
This season’s Playoff Semifinals will take place Saturday, December 28, 2019, at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, January 13, 2020, at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Shocked at Clemson ranking and would definitely swap LSU and Ohio Stare
Klempson will get in by default. They play no ranked teams and will breeze in.
I’m not. The ACC being so weak kills them. But it won’t matter if they continue to win. Even if the LSU/Bama and Ohio St/Penn St. games are close, the losers will not maintain their rankings.
I also agree with Ohio St currently being #1. They are producing the most balance of offense and defense in the country. You can’t say that for LSU.
As last year’s defending national champions, Clemson HAS to be in until someone can beat them. Deal with it or don’t, but that’s the truth of it.
I’m all for these rankings. Ohio State, LSU and Bama are all excellent on offense but Ohio State has the better defense per the eye test.
OSU’s resume is a giant pile of whipped cream.
They’ve got wins against two top 20 teams in the committee’s rankings. Same number as LSU.
This goes back to what we discussed before kody… People are still stuck on LSU beating three top ten teams…
That’s not the case anymore and OSU has a strong argument as anyone.
You’re exactly right. If LSU wins this weekend they’ll be #1. If Alabama wins then they could jump to #1, but I think they’d more likely go to #2 just because that would be their first ranked win while OSU will probably still have 2.
Now that I think about it, I guess you’re right–LSU’s Texas win is looking almost irrelevant at this point, and they did let Vandy score nearly 40.
That being said, though, I wonder how the committee factors in hyped up matchup wins against teams that were highly ranked at the time (i.e, Texas or ND) but that have fallen since. Personally I do agree that their current ranking means more, but I still think you have to take into account the factors of a big, primetime game against a probably-confident opponent. I dunno. This poll doesn’t mean anything this week anyway.
Yes. And not just the eye test. Statistically as well.
OSU hasn’t played a single team that is not considered a cupcake all season long. Their season basically consists of 11 cupcakes and then a 2 loss Michigan team that won’t possibly be ranked in the top 10. Please explain to me what all of their superlative stats are worth when they come from beating up on what amounts to kindergarteners on the playground.
If LSU wins this weekend it will be impossible to deny them the #1 spot. I disagree with the initial rankings but win out and the rest will take care of itself. This weekend is going to be epic in Tuscaloosa.
I mostly agree with the top 5, but I swap LSU and Ohio State. They’re both playing great football but LSU has a way better resume. It’s gonna be an interesting few weeks!! 2 of the top 4 teams will lose to 2 of the others!
No major surprises. I think Baylor is ranked too high, but they are unbeaten. At least they put Florida and Auburn ahead of them. A bit surprised at Penn State over Clemson, but it stands to reason.
I actually think Baylor is too low. They’ve beaten two top 25 teams from the committee’s rankings. Utah is the team that is way too high. 0 wins over teams currently in the top 25 and a loss to the train wreck that is USC and somehow they’re in the top 10?
Agree. They gave the PAC a path to the playoffs with these initial rankings though. Either Oregon or Utah will be conference champs with a win over a top 10 team.
How do you punish Clemson for a weak schedule then reward Ohio Start for blowing out a bunch of nobody’s? LSU should be #1 based on resume.
Two of those nobodys are ranked in the top 20. Ohio State has been dominant on both sides of the ball in every game. I can understand the ranking, and I think most LSU fans just as soon not have #1 at this time.
From a schedule standpoint, Ohio State’s blowout win over Cincinnati has looked better as the season has progressed. As well as their win over Indiana who is now 7-2.
Conversely, LSU’s win over Texas has diminished as the Longhorns have continued to deteriorate.
When all is said and done, LSU will have beaten Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Auburn. All 4 of which could be in the top 10 in the FINAL season poll which is the only rankings that REALLY matter. Well perhaps not Auburn as they would have at least 3 losses on the record then, but they would still be ranked. Nothing OSU does comes anywhere close to that resume. Not even close. I don’t care if OSU is beating the cupcakes on it’s schedule 100-0, it’s still not the same thing as getting wins against multiple top 10 teams.
OSU won’t face a top 10 team until the post season. So let that sink in just a moment.
Actually, LSU’s resume isn’t that much better. Both have beaten two teams in the top 20. LSU has wins over the #9 and 11 teams, while Ohio St has wins over the # 13 and 20 teams. I’d have LSU at 1, but if the committee feels that right now Ohio St is the better team along with their strong resume, it’s actually justifiable that they put Ohio St 1.
No tm ranked #1 in the first committee ranking has ever won a natty. The tms with the most wins in the playoff era have been ranked #2 in the initial poll. Good omens for LSU.
I watched the CFP initial Top 25 and this is my conclusion on Ohio St. The committee loves them and the winner between Bama and LSU will NOT overtake them. Ohio St would have to lose a game to get off that top spot and would NOT fall out of the Top 4.
That’s a strong take. I think the winner I T-Town should be #1. But in the big scheme of things, it doesn’t matter. If either wins out they’re in, and likely #1.
Committee put tOSU at 1 for shock value. All there doing is getting people, and the media, to talk about the poll.
Just.beat.Bama.
Seeing that Ohio State plays Penn State and LSU plays Bama, two of the current top 4 are guaranteed a loss. Clemson is assured (barring a loss) to jump either loser and enter the top 4, so having them at #5 is by definition temporary. I think it also shows that neither Clemson nor Georgia can sustain a loss and still make it into the playoffs.
The issue I have is that the Committee currently thinks 4 teams are better than Clemson (and I agree) yet Clemson will likely move up because of who they play (no one), and two of the top 4 will likely drop because of who they play (more top rated teams). Unfortunately, there seems to be no way to get around this.
Why would you want to be a way around it? Clemson is not only in a P5 conference but they play A&M and South Carolina OOC. Exactly what is it that everyone wants to punish CLemson for? Other than beating Bama twice when no other SEC team (but Auburn) has been able to beat Bama once in years?
Clemson being at #5 is almost the Committee silently saying.”The 4 teams we have before you, two have to lose. We think you’ll go undefeated leaviing us no choice but to put an undefeated P5 CC in the playoff.”
I personally think Clemson will lose a game before the season ends. The ACC is all sorts of weird, and Clemson has been spotty at times throughout the season. That may be wishful thinking, but it’s clear losing that incredible D-Line talent has made facing them less foreboding.
Spot on!
I’ve thought all year that Clemson’s best is still better than anyone else’s best. They just got bored and started playing down to their competition. If these initial rankings motivate them like I think it will then it’ll be an uphill battle for anyone that has to play them the rest of the year.
What I love to see is: LSU beat Alabama then lose to Georgia in the SECCG.. Penn State beat Ohio State then lose to Minnesota in the B1GCG. Utah beat Oregon in the PAC12CG. Then to ice the cake have Oklahoma win out! Ok so I’m a Jalen Hurts fan so what!!!
I’ve been considering that, as well. Both the B1G and the SEC could conceivably produce two 12-1 teams and an 11-1 team by the end of the last CCG, potentially with the 11-1 B1G East runner-up having a win over the conference champ out of the West (that’d be PSU over Minnesota this week, who beats a 12-0 OSU in the CCG). Pretty unlikely, but if the top two conferences produce six 1-loss teams between them and those are some good, close games, along with a 13-0 Clemson out of the otherwise uninspiring ACC and a 1-loss champion from both the Big 12 and PAC 12, get ready for an eight team system as soon as next season but probably more like the 2021 season. I think at least three and quite possibly four of the P5 conferences would range from at least somewhat unhappy to really upset in the above scenario, no matter how you arranged it. The ACC leadership would be the only ones guaranteed to have nothing they could complain about, since Clemson would have to get in and nobody else in the conference has a whiff of the playoffs. Again, pretty unlikely with a month+ of football remaining to be played, but not totally outside the realm of possibility.
Honestly, that’s the one thing I would hate to see is an 8 team playoff. Reasons would be: 1) Teams that have already clinched a birth in their respective CG, would sit their star players for the remainder of the season. Imagine Ohio State heading into the Michigan game at 11-0 while Michigan limps in at 7-4? Would that game mean anything to Ohio State who the next week faces a “8-4 Minnesota?” 2) As we see now, teams are scheduling conference games early in weeks zero through two. That would then FORCE every P5 school to match that style in order to get an early jump on your possible hopes to wrap up your division title as early as possible, then (see reason 1 above). Then lastly, going 8 would surely wipe out the CCGs for all Power5 schools. Either that or the layoff would shorten. Problem with that is, what do you do with the “traditional bowl games after December 28th & especially the games on January 1st. There is, in my opinion, too much to lose going 8 teams.
My ultimate wish is for P5 schools to play these FCS schools during Spring Ball and pay them as you would had the game been played during the season.
I am a long time reader of this site as I am a fan of most SEC teams.
I am of course unhappy with the Committee’s picks yesterday. As a homer, want my team to be at the top regardless of anything, even if they have lost every game.
The main job of the committee is to discover the National Champion. I believe they have accomplished that every year. This is much better than the BCS system.
On this first week, I believe LSU should be over OHS, it is a “no-brainier”.
The committee contradicts itself with 3-4-5. PS should either be ahead of both Alabama and Clemson or behind both.
I think LSU vs Ohio St for 1 is a toss up, but I completely agree that Penn St should either be 3 or 5.
Not yet discovered how to change the avatar from Alabama to Clemson
It’s an interesting start to the rankings. I’m not buying the hype around the B1G this year. Ohio State and Penn State are great teams, but I don’t know how difficult their schedules have really been (I am well aware how ironic this criticism is coming from a Bama fan). Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa don’t strike me as fantastic teams. They’ve all played above-average football at best.
Either way, it’ll play itself out, and I’m excited that we are creeping closer to a backloaded slate of great games.