Ohio State Debuts at No. 4 in First College Football Playoff Ranking

The Buckeyes are one of three unbeaten teams considered to be the best in the country, alongside Alabama and Notre Dame. But which team is ranked fourth?

For the last several months, college football players, coaches and fans alike have all been privy to the weekly AP Poll and Coaches Poll to learn what outsiders think who the best teams in the country are at any given time. But for the first time on Tuesday night, everyone gets to hit the refresh button as the first of five consecutive weekly rankings from the College Football Playoff Selection committee have been announced.

Alabama is the top ranked team in the country, followed in order by No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Clemson and No. 4 Ohio State. Texas A&M and Florida are the first two teams outside of the College Football Playoff.

The Buckeyes have been widely considered one of the top teams in the country dating back to the preseason, so their 2020 debut from the CFP committee comes as no surprise. In fact, the top three teams really weren't much of a question, as Alabama, Notre Dame and Ohio State all have signature wins and are all undefeated thus far in 2020. Regardless of where they debuted in the first ranking, they were all going to be included. 

Here's why OSU shouldn't be worried about being ranked No. 4 this week.

The fourth team was the one that drew slightly more debate among fans, as Clemson's only loss came in a very close game against Notre Dame and was played without Heisman Trophy candidate Trevor Lawrence. 

No. 7 Cincinnati (American Athletic Conference) and BYU (Independent) have each posted undefeated seasons as well. No. 6 Florida's only loss came in a tight game against No. 5 Texas A&M, while the Aggies only setback thus far was a decisive blow from Alabama.

This coming weekend, Alabama is scheduled to play Auburn in the Iron Bowl. The Buckeyes travel to Illinois, Notre Dame is at North Carolina and Clemson hosts the Pitt Panthers.

There are four other Big Ten teams included in the first rankings: No. 8 Northwestern, No. 12 Indiana, No. 16 Wisconsin and No. 24 Iowa (3-2).

Here are the complete rankings for this week. As usual, the top four teams qualify for the College Football Playoff. The final rankings release will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 20 at 12 p.m. Eastern Time.

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