For the first time in the short history of the College Football Playoff rankings, the SEC is not ranked No. 1.

But that doesn’t mean this year’s selection committee has forgotten about the nation’s most competitive conference.

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Clemson was voted in the top spot on Tuesday night, just ahead of unbeaten LSU, Ohio State and one-loss Alabama rounding out the top four. Notre Dame and Baylor are ranked fifth and sixth, respectively.

SEC takeaways from the first College Football Playoff rankings:

  • LSU’s impressive, unblemished resume as the SEC’s only remaining unbeaten has impressed the committee initially. You have to assume Saturday night’s showdown at Alabama will take one of these two squads out of next week’s top four.
  • The Crimson Tide’s early-season loss to Ole Miss has been somewhat overlooked due to Alabama’s challenging season-long slate. Wins over Wisconsin, Georgia, Texas A&M and Tennessee stand out as quality. Only one of those teams is currently ranked in the AP Top 25, however.
  • Florida, at No. 10, is in a great position to move up if the Gators beat Florida State and win the SEC Championship over the final five weeks of the regular season. Some assumed Jim McElwain’s team would be ranked higher since their only loss came on the road at LSU.

National takeaways from the first CFP rankings:

  • Notre Dame’s lone loss to top-ranked Clemson isn’t considered as ‘quality’ as Alabama’s to Ole Miss despite the Rebels ranked No. 18 in the initial poll. Still, the Irish are ranked ahead of several Power 5 unbeatens including Baylor, TCU and Iowa.
  • Memphis, ranked 13th, has garnered the most respect from the trio of lower-tier unbeatens (Toledo and Houston). The Tigers’ non-conference win over nationally-ranked Ole Miss helped an otherwise forgettable schedule.
  • Three Big 12 unbeatens are ranked within the top 14 spots. Oklahoma State, Baylor and TCU all play each other this month along with Oklahoma, a one-loss quality team coming in at No. 15.

Reaction from ESPN’s analysts Tuesday night:

Kirk Herbstreit: “Standing ovation for me that the committee is ont looking at it from an old school way of thinking. I love the selection committee for recognizing Alabama and Notre Dame despite their one loss.”

Joey Galloway: “I thought Florida would be a little higher.”

David Pollack: “Any realm in this world should Iowa be ranked ahead of Memphis?”