The first surprise is at the top of the rankings where Georgia is ranked No. 1 over fellow SEC powerhouse Alabama, who is ranked second. The other big surprise is Notre Dame ranked third, despite already suffering one loss, and erasing any doubt about whether they belong among the top four teams as of this week.
The defending national champs Clemson are fourth, with Oklahoma and Ohio State as the first two on the outside, looking in.
Here is what the playoff would look like if the season were to end today (via ESPN). The full ranking can be seen below.
The other big takeaway from the initial ranking is that the Pac-12 is probably already eliminated from playoff contention. Washington is the last hope from the Pac-12 with fewer than two losses and they are ranked 12th.
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Wisconsin and Miami, two undefeated teams from Power 5 conferences are also seemingly in a little bit of trouble, ranked ninth and tenthm repsectively.
Here is the full ranking: