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New York • Clemson, LSU, Ohio State and Alabama are the top four teams in the first College Football Playoff selection committee rankings of the season.

Notre Dame was fifth and Baylor was sixth on Tuesday night.

The Pac-12 did not have a team in the top 10. Stanford was at No. 11, and Utah was ranked No. 12.

Clemson, LSU and Ohio State are among 11 unbeaten teams in FBS, nearly quadruple the number there was last season when the committee started ranking teams. Alabama and Notre Dame each have one loss.

Memphis was the highest ranked team from a Group of Five conference at No. 13.

Last year the top four teams in the first playoff rankings were Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and Mississippi. Only the Seminoles reached the playoff. Ohio State, the eventual national champion, was 16th in the first rankings.

The committee warmed up to the Crimson Tide.

Alabama lost to Mississippi in September and then Florida pounded Ole Miss in Gainesville. But the Tide landed in playoff position, while Florida was 10th and Ole Miss was 18th.

"Alabama from our point of view had a stronger schedule in the games they have won," said selection committee chairman Jeff Long, the athletic director at Arkansas. "They have three wins against teams with better than .500 records. They're close even though they may be separated by a number of ranking spots."

If you think Alabama is positioned to simply win out and get in the playoff, think again.

Ole Miss is still in control of the SEC West race, so Alabama will need the Rebels to lose just to reach the SEC championship game. At 11-1 with no conference championship, Alabama is likely to get jumped by teams that do win conference titles, including whichever team wins the SEC.

The committee is told to emphasize conference championships, especially when teams have similar resumes.

Remember the committee showed last year it does not lock teams into positions. Florida State dropped while not losing and TCU was third going into the last weekend of the season and finished sixth, despite blowing out Iowa State.

The Big 12 has four teams (Baylor, No. 8 TCU, No. 14 Oklahoma State and No. 15 Oklahoma) in the top 15 and they all play each other in November.

Long said it was difficult to judge the strength of those teams because their big games are still to come. The good news for the Power Five conference that got left out of last season's final four is all of those teams are in good shape to get in the playoff if they win out.

The bad news is one loss by the Big 12 champion might keep it out of the playoff.

Baylor, again, played a terribly weak nonconference schedule, and Oklahoma State did the same. TCU's best nonconference opponent was Minnesota, which is struggling.

If you're looking for this season's Ohio State, which went from 16th in the first poll to making the playoff, Oklahoma is a good pick.

If the Sooners can sweep TCU, Baylor and Oklahoma State down the stretch, they would have a strong late statement. —

College football playoff ranking

Team Record

1. Clemson 8-0

2. LSU 7-0

3. Ohio St. 8-0

4. Alabama 7-1

5. Notre Dame 7-1

6. Baylor 7-0

7. Michigan St. 8-0

8. TCU 8-0

9. Iowa 8-0

10. Florida 7-1

11. Stanford 7-1

12. Utah 7-1

13. Memphis 8-0

14. Oklahoma St. 8-0

15. Oklahoma 7-1

16. Florida St. 7-1

17. Michigan 6-2

18. Mississippi 7-2

19. Texas A&M 6-2

20. Mississippi St. 6-2

21. Northwestern 6-2

22. Temple 7-1

23. UCLA 6-2

24. Toledo 7-0

25. Houston 8-0

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee will issue weekly rankings each Tuesday, with the final rankings being announced Sunday, Dec. 6. Pac-12 left with only a few chances at CFP

STANFORD

The Cardinal are the Pac-12's best shot at earning a CFP spot. Stanford has been in the top 10 of the AP poll the past three weeks and winning a conference like the Pac-12 would carry a lot of weight, especially if it finishes the regular season with one loss. The playoff committee was certainly impressed despite the Cardinal's season-opening clunker against Northwestern, ranking them sixth. Stanford still has conference games against Oregon and California, and then closes out the regular season with a crucial game against No. 8 Notre Dame. Win out and it would be tough to keep the Cardinal out.

UTAH

The Utes were being touted as a strong CFP contender after blowing out Oregon in Eugene, then beating California and Arizona State. A loss to Southern California on Oct. 24 put a big dent in their hopes. Utah does have some quality wins, but losing to an unranked team so late in the season probably won't look good in the eyes of the selection committee. Utah's best shot at getting in the playoff is to win the rest of its games and beat Stanford in the Pac-12 championship game. Winning the Pac-12 championship regardless of whom it's against is a must.

UCLA

An awful lot of things would need to happen for the Bruins to get into the playoff. It starts with UCLA running the table the rest of the season, which would include, obviously, a Pac-12 championship. After that, UCLA would need a few of the teams ahead of it in the CFP rankings to falter, allowing a two-loss team from the Pac-12 to earn one of the final four spots. Eventual champion Ohio State started 16th in the initial CFP rankings a year ago, but did it with one loss. The Bruins still have games against Washington State, Utah and USC before even thinking about the playoff.

— The Associated Press