GRAPEVINE, Texas – Unbeatable Tennessee won 1st place in the College Football League original 25 rating Tuesday night, marking the first time in the show’s history, it broke into the top 4, followed by 2nd place. Ohio StateNo.3 Georgia and number 4 Clemson.
The 13-member committee is ranked undefeated Michigan Number 5, and one lose Alabama 6th to 7th undefeated TCU. Alabama has been ranked in the first three rankings for the past six years. It has never been lower than 6th in the commission’s first ranking, as it won the same position in 2014.
“We talked about this earlier in the week, but we don’t know where we’re going to rank,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel told ESPN. “At the end of the day, one thing we’ve tried to do here is enjoy the journey.”
Tennessee, averaging 49 points per game and leading FBS in total points, became the seventh other show to win the top spot at any point in the playoff era.
“We have continued to build our squad and really believe in where we are going,” said Heupel. “We’re continuing to get better throughout the season.”
The Vols entered the initial rankings Tuesday, placing #1 on ESPN’s Record Strength index with the best win in the country, against Alabama at #6.
“When you look at [top] three teams, two wins with Alabama and at LSU really marked a game day for Tennessee,” CFP committee chairman Boo Corrigan, athletic director at NC State, said on ESPN.
When asked about the difference between Ohio State and Georgia for the #2 spot, Corrigan said that one of the key factors the committee looked at was “the explosive nature of their offense in Ohio State. “
Speaking to reporters earlier in the day, before the rankings were released, Ohio State coach Ryan Day seemed more focused on preparing for this week’s opponent, Northwestern, than where the Buckeyes’ Buckeyes are. he will land.
“I do think we absolutely deserve to be in the top four,” he said. “Do I think it’s that important right now, no. It’s important to beat the Northwest.”
Seven of the eight teams that were previously ranked #1 in the committee’s first ranking have gone on to achieve CFP. The only exception was Mississippi State in 2014, the first season of the CFP.
In 8th place, Oregon lost by one as the highest ranked team of the Pac-12.
Tennessee and Georgia will go head-to-head on Saturday in a game that has a dramatic impact on the committee’s second-place finish, and Ohio State and Michigan will eventually go head-to-head in the regular-season head-to-head game. their.
“There’s a long way to go,” Heupel said, “and obviously, we have a very big test against Georgia.”
All told, the first release features five teams, one each from the SEC, ACC, and Pac-12, four from the Big Ten and Big 12, and two from the Americans.
“We’re really not looking at conferences, we’re looking at individual teams,” Corrigan said. “At the end of the day, we’re trying to pick the best teams and arrange them in the right way.”
