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The College Football Playoff announced its first preliminary rankings Tuesday night. This means we got our first glimpse at what the selection committee is thinking, after years of speculating about what the committee will value and decades of demanding a playoff system in the first place.
Three teams from the SEC West made the initial top four, including an Ole Miss team that just lost. Honestly, I'm more surprised that Florida State came in at No. 2 then I am the SEC teams. Obviously there will be plenty of losses in the SEC as many of these teams still play each other. But Florida State really hasn't looked very good (comparatively speaking) this season. That opening game against Oklahoma State stands out now and if the committee doesn't think much of Notre Dame then it's hard to see them thinking much of the Seminoles.
The highest ranked Pac-12 team is Oregon coming in at No. 5 followed by Arizona at No. 12, Arizona State at No. 14, Utah at No. 17 and UCLA (UGH) at No. 22
What does everyone think?
| Rank | Team | Conference | Toughest opponent left (per F/+) | If the season ended today ... |
| 1 | Mississippi State | SEC | Ole Miss | Sugar Bowl vs. Ole Miss |
| 2 | Florida State | ACC | Louisville | Rose Bowl vs. Auburn |
| 3 | Auburn | SEC | Ole Miss | Rose Bowl vs. Florida State |
| 4 | Ole Miss | SEC | Auburn | Sugar Bowl vs. Mississippi State |
| 5 | Oregon | Pac-12 | Stanford | New Year's bowl |
| 6 | Alabama | SEC | Auburn | Orange Bowl* |
| 7 | TCU | Big 12 | Kansas State | New Year's bowl |
| 8 | Michigan State | Big Ten | Ohio State | New Year's bowl |
| 9 | Kansas State | Big 12 | TCU | New Year's bowl |
| 10 | Notre Dame | Independent | Louisville | New Year's bowl |
| 11 | Georgia | SEC | Auburn | |
| 12 | Arizona | Pac-12 | Arizona State | |
| 13 | Baylor | Big 12 | Oklahoma | |
| 14 | Arizona State | Pac-12 | Notre Dame | |
| 15 | Nebraska | Big Ten | Wisconsin | |
| 16 | Ohio State | Big Ten | Michigan State | |
| 17 | Utah | Pac-12 | Oregon | |
| 18 | Oklahoma | Big 12 | Baylor | |
| 19 | LSU | SEC | Alabama | |
| 20 | West Virginia | Big 12 | TCU | |
| 21 | Clemson | ACC | Georgia Tech | Orange Bowl* |
| 22 | UCLA | Pac-12 | Stanford | |
| 23 | East Carolina | American | UCF | New Year's bowl* |
| 24 | Duke | ACC | Virginia Tech | |
| 25 | Louisville | ACC | Florida State |