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College Football Playoff Rankings: Majority of Playoff Teams Don’t Start in the Top 4

HERO Sports by HERO Sports
October 31, 2017
College Football Playoff Rankings: Majority of Playoff Teams Don’t Start in the Top 4

Mississippi State was ranked first in the inaugural College Football Playoff rankings in 2014. The Bulldogs, who lost two of their final three games and finished seventh, were one of three initial top-four teams that did not make four-team field. 

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The Week 10 College Football Playoff rankings are exciting and do give insight into how the 12-person committee is weighing wins, losses and schedules, but the first rankings are not an accurate look at the future.

Seven of the 12 playoffs teams over the first three years of the format were not ranked in the top four of the first rankings. Each year, at least two teams that were not among the initial top four made the four-team field. 

Alabama was ranked sixth in the first College Football Playoff rankings in 2014. The Crimson Tide won out and were the top seed in the first-ever playoff. Oklahoma also won out in 2015 to become the fourth seed after starting 15th. And Ohio State did the same last year, moving from sixth to third.

The table below shows what the final four teams were ranked in the first rankings. For example, as noted, in 2014 Alabama was sixth in the initial rankings before grabbing the top seed, and Oklahoma jumped from 15th to fourth in 2015.

Year Final No. 1 Final No. 2 Final No. 3 Final No. 4
Initial 2014 6 5 2 16
Initial 2015 1 4 7 15
Initial 2016 1 2 6 5

Three initial top-four teams finished outside the top 15, including Texas A&M last year. The Aggies were fourth in Week 10 but unranked in the final rankings. They remain the highest team to ever fall completely out of the final rankings. The next closest are Notre Dame and Nebraska, who both went from 10th to unranked in 2014 and 2016, respectively.

The lowest-ranked team to move into the field was Ohio State in 2014. The next closest teams are Oklahoma (No. 15 to No. 4 in 2015) and Michigan State (No. 7 to No. 3 in 2015).

Initial Rankings Final 2014 Final 2015 Final 2016
1 7 1 1
2 3 20 2
3 19 7 6
4 9 2 Unranked
5 2 8 4
6 1 17 3
7 6 3 13
8 8 11 8
9 11 5 14
10 Unranked 19 Unranked
11 13 6 17
12 10 23 5
13 5 Unranked 20
14 15 16 7
15 Unranked 4 10
16 4 9 19
17 22 14 Unranked
18 Unranked 12 12
19 23 Unranked 22
20 Unranked Unranked 16
21 17 13 Unranked
22 14 24 11
23 Unranked Unranked 15
24 Unranked Unranked Unranked
25 21 18 Unranked

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NEXT: Beware Ohio State, Kinnick Stadium Has Been a House of Horrors for Top-5 Teams

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