If the 2014 college football season ended Tuesday, Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and Ole Miss would participate in the inaugural four-team College Football Playoff.
The College Football Playoff selection committee unveiled its first-ever top 25 rankings Tuesday night, and there were a few surprises as to how it all played out. Mississippi State and Florida State, both undefeated, claimed the No. 1 and No. 2 spots respectively, while 6-1 Auburn and 7-1 Ole Miss landed at No. 3 and No. 4.
Oregon (7-1) and Alabama (7-1) are on the outside looking in for now, coming in at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively.
While a number of teams with similar resumes were lumped together with one loss outside of the top two, Auburn and Ole Miss were rewarded for head-to-head victories and managed to earn a coveted top-four spot. Though it lost to Mississippi State, the Tigers beat Kansas State (No. 9) and LSU (No. 19), while Ole Miss beat Alabama (No. 6).
TCU, Michigan State, Kansas State, and Notre Dame round out the top 10.
The teams comprising the committee’s initial top 25 consists of six SEC teams, five Pac 12 teams, five Big 12 teams, four ACC teams and three Big Ten teams from Power Five conferences, plus East Carolina of the American Athletic Conference, and Notre Dame, an indepedendent. Undefeated Marshall (8-0), of Conference USA, did not crack the top 25.
If your team didn’t crack the prestigious top four, don’t worry. The committee will release updated top-25 rankings every Tuesday until Dec. 7 – when the final rankings are unveiled and the semifinalists of the College Football Playoff are decided.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
