As we advance to November with plenty of games to remember, the College Football Playoff committee is set to release its first rankings Tuesday to much anticipation. The Associated Press Top 25 is a good indicator, but it’s certainly not the blueprint for which the 12-person committee orders teams. It’s final rankings last year—its inaugural season—left out AP No. 4 Baylor Bears in favor of the Ohio State Buckeyes, which went on to win the title as the lowest among the four seeds. The CFP committee was established to add emphasis to the human element of selection unlike its polarized predecessor, the BCS, which accounted a complicated computer formula as one-third of criteria towards its standings. The committee won’t fully eliminate conflict, with 12 albeit esteemed experts deciding a champion’s fate. But this format has presented a refreshing and long-awaited change after 16 seasons with the BCS. With the first of six CFP rankings on the horizon before the field is narrowed to four, here’s a glance at which teams are in and out. These predictions reflect the teams that deserve to be ranked among the top four—not necessarily which will finish there. There are still championships to determine and upcoming head-to-head competition, as eight of the AP Top 10 have remaining games against fellow teams within those ranks. 2015 College Football Playoff Rankings — Predictions Team CFP Prediction AP Week 10 Rank Record Ohio State Buckeyes 1 1 8-0 Clemson Tigers 2 3 8-0 LSU Tigers 3 4 7-0 Baylor Bears 4 2 7-0 B/R Columnist Daniel Kramer No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes David J. Phillip/Associated Press Ohio State is undefeated and the defending champion. It has been No. 1 since January, and there’s no dispute to including it in the top four. While they don’t boast the strength of schedule that LSU and Clemson do, and they haven’t been blowing out teams they way they were supposed to, the Buckeyes are arguably more talented than the 2014 team that won it all. Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports added perspective as to why Ohio State should be No. 1: So even when this team doesn’t play its best, it can still beat you by just being better at football than you are. It also has a coach in Urban Meyer who has proven to be one of the best coaches in the country…
Continue Reading: NCAA Football Rankings 2015: Predicting First Official Playoff Standings
