Obviously the biggest issue for this set of rankings was selecting the No. 4 team.
My soul tells me that Georgia was one of the top four teams in the country. My head tells me the Bulldogs lost by 20 points at LSU and that has to be calculated, and that’s why I put Oklahoma at No. 4 behind the undefeated conference champions Alabama and Clemson, along with 12-0 Notre Dame.
Additionally, I could not see the College Football Playoff selection committee taking Georgia into the four-team playoff field as a two-loss team over once-beaten conference champions, despite the fact the Bulldogs looked like the better team for most of Saturday’s 35-28 loss to Alabama for the SEC title. It would have opened up a can of issues that would have created great loads of bickering.
My AP ballot was due before the release of the CFP rankings, and I also slotted Georgia between Oklahoma and Ohio State. The Buckeyes just had too many erratic performances, despite their dominating win over Michigan, plus the big loss at Purdue.
Props to Central Florida for rallying from well behind Memphis twice to win the American. The Knights are No. 7 for me.
I thought Michigan was a solid No. 8 with its only losses to teams ranked ahead of them. Sorting out the next four spots was difficult, but I went with Pac 12 champion Washington at No. 9, followed by LSU, Washington State and Florida.
My top four-loss team is Texas, one notch ahead of Mississippi State.
1 Alabama
2 Clemson
3 Notre Dame
4 Oklahoma
5 Georgia
6 Ohio State
7 UCF
8 Michigan
9 Washington
10 LSU
11 Washington State
12 Florida
13 Kentucky
14 Penn State
15 Texas
16 Mississippi State
17 West Virginia
18 Syracuse
19 Texas A&M
20 Utah
21 Fresno State
22 North Carolina State
23 Missouri
24 Army
25 Boise State