Sep 23, 2017; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm (11) passes against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the second half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Two Southeastern Conference teams occupied the top two spots in the first College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday night.
Georgia (8-0), which is ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, was placed No. 1 by the panel that does the CFP rankings. Alabama (8-0), which is No. 1 in the AP poll, is No. 2.
Two teams with a loss — Notre Dame and Clemson — are also ranked in the CFP top four with the Fighting Irish ranked No. 3 and the Tigers at No. 4. Both are 7-1.
The top four teams in the final CFP rankings will advance to the College Football Playoff, with the top seed facing the No. 4 seed in one semifinal and the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds meeting in the other semifinal.
Evidently, strength of schedule played a role in the choices made by the selection panel.
Clemson (7-1) is ranked only No. 6 in this week’s AP poll and has a loss to unranked Syracuse. But the Tigers also have impressive wins over Auburn and Virginia Tech, the latter on the road.
Notre Dame (7-1) lost to Georgia by a point, but owns a 20-point win over Michigan State, a 35-point win over USC and a 21-point victory over North Carolina State.
Left out of the top four were Ohio State (7-1), which beat Penn State (7-1) this past weekend and is No. 3 in the AP poll, and Wisconsin (8-0), which is ranked No. 4 in the AP poll.
The Badgers are only No. 9 in the CFP rankings.
Ohio State is No. 6, one spot behind Oklahoma (7-1). Penn State is at No. 7 in both the AP and CFB rankings. Rounding out the top 10 are No. 8 TCU (7-1) and No. 10 Miami (7-0).
