ATLANTA _ The first phase of college football's offseason begins before the current one ends. That's when the top-tier teams that aren't playing in the national championship game find out which players are off to the NFL or elsewhere. Key coaches may opt for better jobs.
The next phase comes when that process plays out for the final two teams. This year that was champion LSU (which was gutted by player and coach departures) and runner-up Clemson (which survived relatively intact).
Phase 2 is over. The NFL draft deadline has passed, and the shuffling of coaches is mostly complete. There will be more player attrition via transfers, suspensions and dismissals, but there aren't likely to be major changes among college football's elite.
If recent history holds, the four teams in next season's College Football Playoff will come from among the top six in the final Associated Press poll. With that in mind, here's how I rank the top six for 2020 after Phase 2 of the offseason:
