The first set of rankings feature one Big Ten team in the top four.
Michigan State has already defied the odds this season, going unbeaten through eight weeks and riding high after last week’s victory over rival Michigan in a battle of unbeatens. The unexpected success continued on Tuesday as Michigan State was ranked No.3 in the first set of rankings from the College Football Playoff committee, the first time the Spartans have been a real factor in the race for the four-team field since 2015 when they earned a spot after winning their second Big Ten championship in three years. « They have that big win this weekend against Michigan, » said Gary Barta, the Iowa athletic director and chair of the selection committee. « They didn’t panic, came back and beat a very good Michigan team and that’s how they ended up at No.3. » Georgia was ranked No.1 while Alabama was at No.2. Oregon checked in at No.4 to round out what would be the playoff field if the season were to end at this point. Michigan, which lost for the first time last week at Michigan State, was ranked No.7. “Michigan State, they could be up at two, definitely in the top four,” ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said. “Without beating a team with a winning record, they went out and came back from that big deficit (against Michigan), to come back and win and turn the season around, and the committee recognized it and put them in the top three.
