Here’s your annual reminder that the top of the initial College Football Playoff rankings released this week probably will look at least a little different from the top of the final College Football Playoff rankings (i.e., the ones that actually matter) when they are revealed Dec. 3. Only once have the top four in the first rankings been the same four teams that made the actual playoff, and that was in 2020, the condensed pandemic season. On average, only 2.3 teams from the first rankings have made the playoffs.
But you don’t want to be too far down in the initial rankings, either. Only twice has a team ranked lower than ninth in the first rankings made the playoff, and that hasn’t happened since 2015 (when Oklahoma jumped from 15th in the first rankings to fourth in the final poll).
All times Eastern.
No. 1 Ohio State at Rutgers | ||
No. 23 Kansas State at No. 7 Texas | ||
No. 15 Notre Dame at Clemson | ||
Texas A&M at No. 10 Mississippi | ||
Arkansas at Florida | ||
Jacksonville State at South Carolina | ||
Connecticut at No. 17 Tennessee | SEC Network | |
Nebraska at Michigan State | Fox Sports 1 | |
Wisconsin at Indiana | Big Ten Network | |
Campbell at North Carolina | ACC Network | |
Arizona State at No. 18 Utah | Pac-12 Network | |
Georgia Tech at Virginia | CW Network | |
Army vs. No. 25 Air Force | CBS Sports Network | |
No. 12 Missouri at No. 2 Georgia | ||
No. 9 Oklahoma at No. 22 Oklahoma State | ||
No. 11 Penn State at Maryland | ||
No. 4 Florida State at Pittsburgh | ||
James Madison at Georgia State | ||
No. 24 Tulane at East Carolina | ||
Virginia Tech at No. 13 Louisville | ACC Network | |
Illinois at Minnesota | Big Ten Network | |
Central Florida at Cincinnati | Fox Sports 1 | |
Auburn at Vanderbilt | SEC Network | |
California at No. 6 Oregon | Pac-12 Network | |
Louisiana Tech at Liberty | CBS Sports Network | |
Marshall at Appalachian State | NFL Network | |
No. 21 Kansas at Iowa State | ||
BYU at West Virginia | ||
Utah State at San Diego State | Fox Sports 1 | |
Purdue at No. 3 Michigan | ||
No. 5 Washington at No. 20 Southern California | ||
Kentucky at Mississippi State | SEC Network | |
SMU at Rice | ||
No. 14 LSU at No. 8 Alabama | ||
Miami at North Carolina State | ACC Network | |
Stanford at Washington State | Pac-12 Network | |
No. 16 Oregon State at Colorado | ||
Boise State at Fresno State | CBS Sports Network | |
UCLA at Arizona | Fox Sports 1 |
Newly ensconced as the nation’s No. 1 team in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, Ohio State travels to Rutgers, which might not be the pushover some would expect. The Scarlet Knights are 6-2 and have held five of their opponents to 16 or fewer points. They’re particularly strong against the pass, ranking second nationally behind Michigan in passing yards allowed per game and third behind Ohio State and Iowa in yards allowed per pass attempt. The Buckeyes’ defense is exceptional at preventing big plays, however, allowing only 72 gains of 10-plus yards, the fifth-best number in the country. Rutgers does not have an explosive offense and has gained at least 10 yards on only 85 plays, one of the worst marks for any Power Five team. … In his four seasons in the Little Apple, Kansas State Coach Chris Klieman has beaten every team in the pre-expansion Big 12 except for one: Texas, the Wildcats’ opponent Saturday. This probably will be Klieman’s last shot for a while, with the Longhorns leaving the Big 12 for the SEC after this season. The Wildcats’ defense is looking increasingly nasty: It has allowed only three points combined over the past two games (one of them against defending national runner-up TCU). …
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The race to the SEC championship game could get a whole lot clearer after Saturday, starting first with the key SEC East tilt between Missouri and Georgia, the two teams in the division that have one conference loss or fewer. Paced by the quarterback-wide receiver combo of Brady Cook and Luther Burden III, the Tigers haven’t been ranked this high since 2014, when they reached the SEC championship game. The Bulldogs did not look all that dismayed by the loss of star tight end Brock Bowers last weekend, when they averaged 7.4 yards per play in a 43-20 win over Florida. … There won’t be any more Bedlam, at least for the time being, after Saturday’s Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game. The Sooners are off to the SEC after this season, and no future games between the in-state rivals have been scheduled. The Sooners have won seven of eight in the series, though the Cowboys look increasingly potent this season behind running back Ollie Gordon II, the nation’s leading rusher at 135.9 yards per game. …
LSU-Alabama represents the other side of Saturday’s SEC championship race coin, and the Crimson Tide probably would seal it trip to Atlanta with the victory. Alabama rounds out its SEC schedule with road games at Kentucky and Auburn but will be a heavy favorite in both. Things would get a little complicated if the Tigers win, however. It would leave three teams in the SEC West with one loss — Alabama, LSU and Mississippi — and all three with a 1-1 record against one another (the Rebels beat the Tigers but lost to the Crimson Tide). Things could go deep into the SEC tiebreaker process should all three finish with one loss. Alabama is looking for revenge after last season’s LSU game, which the Tigers won in overtime by converting a two-point conversion.
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