College Football Playoff Rankings: Stage set for crucial weekend matchup

The first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings were revealed on Tuesday, setting the stage for what should be an exciting back half of the 2022-23 season.

Tennessee, which boasts a win over Alabama this season, came in at No. 1, followed by Ohio State, Georgia and Clemson in the top four. Undefeated Michigan came in just outside a playoff spot at No. 5, followed by Alabama, TCU and Oregon.

Tennessee is No. 1 in the CFP rankings for the first time. Only one team that has been No. 1 in the committee’s initial rankings has not made the playoff, but only about half the teams in the first top four managed to finish there.

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As is often the case, this is the time of year in which the two best teams in the Southeastern Conference have been touted as among the four best teams in the sport.

But it has a new wrinkle this season, because those two SEC teams — No. 1 Tennessee and No. 3 Georgia — both come from the SEC East, a first since the inception of the College Football Playoff in 2014.

It also means that the Vols' game against Georgia on Saturday will act as a de facto play-in game for the CFP semis because somebody’s "0" has got to go. That contest will be watched closely by other contenders hoping to take advantage of the situation, particularly undefeated teams just outside the top four like No. 5 Michigan and No. 7 TCU.

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Tennessee certainly has done its part with the best résumé in the sport — five AP-ranked wins and the best win of the season so far, a triumph over previously undefeated Alabama for the first time since the invention of the iPhone.

The 2022 Volunteers are also keeping pace with the best offense of the last 20 years to win a national title — 2019 LSU.

Tennessee both scores more points (49.4 to 48.4) and allows fewer points (21 to 21.9) than that LSU squad, while gaining more yards per play (7.9 to 7.4).

But the Vols have not yet faced a defense as talented as the Dawgs, who allow just 10.3 points per game and haven’t surrendered more than 22 in a single outing this season. The Bulldogs also are no slouches offensively, averaging better than 41 points per game with their own Heisman candidate at quarterback in Stetson Bennett.

The reason the CFP committee gives such credence to the SEC is not just because the league itself is tough, but because 12 of the last 15 national champions have played in it. With Georgia defending its title, the Volunteers looking like a title contender for the first time since Tee Martin's 1998 squad, and the Tide still possessing a very real road to the semis, that’s proving true once again.

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While Tennessee and Georgia aren't 1-2 in the CFP rankings, they are 1-2 in the AP Top 25. We haven’t seen a heavyweight matchup of that caliber in three years, and it's just the 25th time in the regular season it's happened since the inception of the AP poll in 1936. The last time the AP No. 1 and No. 2 teams played in the regular season, LSU stormed back from a 20-point, halftime deficit to beat Alabama and never looked back.

As the SEC is concerned, when its two best are also the two best in the country and play in the regular season, that game produces the national champion. Maybe it does just mean more.

Tuesday's reveal was the first of the CFP rankings announcements, which will come out every Tuesday for the rest of the season. The four CFP teams will be revealed when the final rankings are released on Sunday, Dec. 4.

Earlier, Bryan Fischer outlined the paths to the CFP for the top 12 contenders.

Here are the rankings:

1. Tennessee (8-0)
2. Ohio State (8-0)
3. Georgia (8-0)
4. Clemson (8-0)
5. Michigan (8-0)
6. Alabama (7-1)
7. TCU (8-0)
8. Oregon (7-1)
9. USC (7-10
10. LSU (6-2)
11. Ole Miss (8-1)
12. UCLA (7-1)
13. Kansas State (6-2)
14. Utah (6-2)
15. Penn State (6-2)
16. Illinois (7-1)
17. North Carolina (7-1)
18. Oklahoma State (6-2)
19. Tulane (7-1)
20. Syracuse (6-2)
21. Wake Forest (6-2)
22. NC State (6-2)
23. Oregon State (6-2)
24. Texas (5-3)
25. UCF (6-2)

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RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and the host of the podcast "The Number One College Football Show." Follow him on Twitter at @RJ_Young and subscribe to "The RJ Young Show" on YouTube.