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Initial 2017 College Football Playoff Rankings to be Released Tuesday Night

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The college football season is flying by. The first 9 weeks of the season are already in the books, and the list of teams in contention for a national title has narrowed itself to a select few.

Tonight, college football fans from across the nation will get a taste of who the actual contenders will be when the College Football Playoff Selection Committee releases the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2017 football season at 6:00 CDT on ESPN.

Five undefeated teams remain in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Two of those teams are Georgia and Alabama from the top-heavy Southeastern Conference. The final three are Central Florida, Miami and Wisconsin.

Being unbeaten, as we have seen in previous playoff rankings, does not necessarily mean the committee will see you as one of the top four teams in the nation. Does being undefeated help your chances? Of course. But these committee members take many other aspects of a college football team into account.

Best wins, best losses, strength of schedule, and the ever-so-controversial “eye-test” are all taken into consideration when committee members are casting their ballots. Expect the eye-test to play a huge role in tonight’s rankings.

Although sitting with one loss, Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma, Penn State and Notre Dame all look better on the field than undefeated Wisconsin and Miami. Other one loss teams such as TCU and Oklahoma State also have resumes that challenge Wisconsin and Miami.

The controversy may come at the very top. It is still very much in the air, when looking at each team’s resume, who will be at the top spot when the poll drops. Georgia may have the best win in the nation. That being on the road at Notre Dame with a true freshman quarterback. Alabama, although not having a win against a team currently ranked in any major poll, passes the eye test with flying colors.

Do not be surprised to see the Georgia Bulldogs at the mountain top when the poll releases with the Alabama Crimson Tide sitting at 2.

Prediction:

When the top four drops tonight, expect it to look a little like this:

  1. Alabama (8-0)
  2. Georgia (8-0)
  3. Ohio State (7-1)
  4. Notre Dame (7-1)

The good news is, if you do not see your team in the top four, there is still time to climb the ladder. These rankings are not set in stone, and are essentially meaningless. This initial poll is always great for transparency, allowing the public to gauge what the committee values and discredits, so there are no surprises at the end of the season.

The CFP poll will drop every Tuesday night until conference championship weekend. The final CFP poll will be released Sunday, Dec. 3.

Jeremy Law for SylacaugaNews.com | © 2017, SylacaugaNews.com/Marble City Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.


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