The first official College Football Playoff rankings of the 2023 season were released Tuesday night, with No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Georgia leading the way.
If the season ended today, the Buckeyes would play against No. 4 Florida State in one semifinal game, and the Bulldogs would match up with No. 3 Michigan in the second playoff game, with the winners poised to meet in the championship on Jan. 8 at NRG Stadium in Houston.
The semifinals will be held at the Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, Fla.) and Sugar Bowl (New Orleans) on Jan. 1.
No. 5 Washington and No. 6 Oregon were the first two teams left out of the playoff picture.
Although the initial rankings give us an idea of where every team stands heading into the home stretch of the season, there is still plenty to be determined on the field. No. 1 Ohio State and No. 3 Michigan still have their Big Ten rivalry matchup to look forward to on Nov. 25, and No. 5 Washington still has quite a way to go through the Pac-12 schedule with games against No. 20 USC, No. 18 Utah and No. 16 Oregon State before it can begin to think about punching a ticket to the playoff.
Subsequent College Football Playoff rankings will be released each Tuesday evening until Sunday, Dec. 3, when the playoff field officially will be set.
Here are the inaugural 2023 rankings as of Tuesday night:
- Ohio State
- Georgia
- Michigan
- Florida State
- Washington
- Oregon
- Texas
- Alabama
- Oklahoma
- Ole Miss
- Penn State
- Missouri
- Louisville
- LSU
- Notre Dame
- Oregon State
- Tennessee
- Utah
- UCLA
- USC
- Kansas
- Oklahoma State
- Kansas State
- Tulane
- Air Force
