The CFP polls put Ohio St., Georgia, Michigan, or Florida St. at the top.
Florida State is ranked fourth and Washington is ranked fifth, while third-place Michigan is being investigated by the NCAA for possible sign-theft.
The Longhorns’ dominating head-to-head victory over Alabama in September was the deciding factor in Texas moving up to No. 1.
According to CFP chair Boo Corrigan, who was quoted on ESPN’s broadcast announcing the rankings, the Buckeyes have “difference-makers on offense” after their victories over Notre Dame and Penn State. “We examined it; Ohio State deserved the title of No. 1.”
With five unbeaten Power 5 teams heading into the initial rankings, the biggest mystery was how the ranking panel would chose to separate them. It’s easy to see how crucial scheduling strength was.
“As a group, the 13 among us in the room felt that this was the order of the top four slots,” stated Corrigan. The Buckeyes have endured a considerably stronger slate to date than Georgia.
They’ve beaten two teams currently ranked in the top 15: No. 11 Penn State and No. 15 Notre Dame. Georgia has two top-25 victories and an impressive schedule that ranks No. 100, based on ESPN analytics. Only two FBS teams having winning records have been defeated by the Bulldogs.
But those numbers will shift in the following weeks as both teams face their most challenging stretches of the season.
Over the next three weeks, Georgia will play at No. 12 Missouri, No. 10 Ole Miss, and No. 17 Tennessee. Michigan has No. 11 Penn State and No. 1 Ohio State remaining.
On Tuesday, the first NCAA Football Playoff rankings were released, placing Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan, or Florida State at the top of the list, followed by unbeaten Washington (8-0) with its Pac-12 opponent, Oregon (7-1).
The Longhorns (7-1) were in seventh place, one spot ahead of Alabama (7-1), and they had a road win over Alabama in September.
For the first time since 2019, and for a fourth time in the CFP’s ten-year history, the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes are ranked top.
The NCAA is looking at the Michigan Wolverines program for an alleged sign-stealing conspiracy that allegedly involves unlawful in-person scouting before the team approaches the final month of its season.
The best 25 teams were announced by ESPN on Tuesday night, and the Bulldogs surprisingly finished second to Ohio State.
Over the past three years, the Dawgs have gone unbeaten by winning 25 consecutive games. In 2023, Georgia will play only four more games.
Thanks to their victories over No. 11 Penn State or No. 15 Notre Dame thus far this season, the CFP selecting committee put the University of Ohio ahead of Georgia, Michigan, Florida State, or Washington.
Only Ohio State has two victories over teams currently ranked in the top 15, out of the five undefeated teams that are at top of the polls.
It’s likely that Georgia’s tougher schedule is what put them at No. 2 instead of Michigan. The Wolverines have been an especially dominant team, although they haven’t faced any really strong competition.
That’ll alter by the end of the season, though. Michigan’s last opponents on its schedule are Penn State then Ohio State.
With Washington’s recent struggles, Florida State has moved up to the No. 4 spot, passing the Husky’s. Washington overcame Arizona State on Week 8 on the strength of a defensive touchdown, but they were unable to close off Stanford in Week 9.