DALLAS, Sporting Alert – Defending champion Alabama tops the first College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday.
The Crimson Tide (8-0) who also lead The Associated Press Top 25 rankings, was the expected choice at the top of the season’s first poll, having dominated all their opponents so far this campaign.
Next up for Nick Saban’s men who were on a bye this past week, is a trip to the LSU Tigers on Saturday.
Alabama is followed by two other 8-0 teams, Clemson, which rallied to beat Florida State last Saturday and the Michigan Wolverines, who beat Michigan State last weekend as well.
Texas A&M, which is 7-1 after losing at Alabama 33-14 two weeks ago, leapfrogs the undefeated Washington for the No. 4 spot.
The Tigers, despite showing some inconsistency this season, is at No. 2, while Big Ten front-runner Michigan is third.
Clemson will next entertain Syracuse, Michigan entertains Maryland and Texas A&M is at Mississippi State.
Meanwhile, the Huskies, who are also 8-0 and have two wins over ranked teams this term, are at No. 5 with Ohio State (7-1), who were beaten by Penn State two weeks ago, at No. 6.
Louisville (7-1), Wisconsin (6-2), Auburn (6-2) and Nebraska (7-1) round out the top 10.
Florida (6-1) is No. 11, followed by Penn State (6-2), LSU (5-2), Oklahoma (6-2) and Colorado (6-2) complete the top 15.
They are followed by Utah (7-2), Baylor (6-1), Oklahoma State (6-2), Virginia Tech (6-2) and West Virginia (6-1) who are 16 through 20.
Rounding out the top 25 are North Carolina (6-2), Florida State (5-3), Western Michigan (8-0), Boise State (7-1) and Washington State (6-2).
The top four teams at the end of the season will advance to the College Football Playoff semifinals, which are the Fiesta and Chick-Fil-A Peach bowls this year on Dec. 31.
The College Football Playoff National Championship game will take place on January 9 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
College Football Playoff Rankings
Tuesday, November 1
RK TEAM REC
1 Alabama 8-0
2 Clemson 8-0
3 Michigan 8-0
4 Texas A&M 7-1
5 Washington 8-0
6 Ohio State 7-1
7 Louisville 7-1
8 Wisconsin 6-2
9 Auburn 6-2
10 Nebraska 7-1
11 Florida 6-1
12 Penn State 6-2
13 LSU 5-2
14 Oklahoma 6-2
15 Colorado 6-2
16 Utah 7-2
17 Baylor 6-1
18 Oklahoma State 6-2
19 Virginia Tech 6-2
20 West Virginia 6-1
21 North Carolina 6-2
22 Florida State 5-3
23 Western Michigan 8-0
24 Boise State 7-1
25 Washington State 6-2
