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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Wilton Jackson

Tennessee Tops Season’s First College Football Playoff Rankings

The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season were released with a new face leading the way. 

Tennessee was ranked at No. 1 for the first time in the College Football Playoff era, as the Volunteers sit at 8–0Following the Volunteers, the rest of the top six is rounded out by Ohio State (8-0), Georgia (8-0), Clemson (8-0), Michigan (8-0) and Alabama (7-1). 

Following the broadcast of the first rankings, CFP chair Boo Corrigan said that Tennessee’s two wins against the Crimson Tide and No. 10 LSU helped the Vols receive the top CFP ranking. 

Tennessee has won eight consecutive games, most recently a dominant 44-6 victory against Kentucky on Saturday. The Volunteers face one of their toughest tests of the season–along with their win against the Crimson Tide on Oct. 15–when they travel to Georgia. 

While Tennessee and Georgia have played many times as top 10 opponents, the two teams have never played as top five opponents. The last time the two teams met in a top-10 matchup was Oct. 12, 2002, when then No. 6 UGA defeated No. 10 Tennessee 18–13.

As Tennessee enters Sanford Stadium for a highly anticipated matchup, Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel said his team is solely focused enjoying the journey. “Our players have built this,” Heupel said. “Three years ago, it didn’t look like this. Embrace it.”

Forde: Forde-Yard Dash: Ranking Every Past Opening Playoff Rankings

Ohio State (8–0), which is coming off a 44-31 victory against Penn State, will go on the road to face Northwestern at noon on Saturday. Clemson (8–0) will be in a marquee matchup against Notre Dame on Saturday night. The Fighting Irish haven’t allowed more than 21 points in any of their three losses this season.

Both Oregon and USC are one-loss teams that landed in this week’s top 10. TCU (8–0) captured the No. 7 spot as the lowest-ranked undefeated team, sitting behind 7–1 Alabama, while LSU (6–2) rounded out the top 10.

Corrigan said the Horned Frogs sit one spot behind Alabama because the committee was looking for a “balanced team” on offense and defense. “They've [TCU] gotten behind in some games,” Corrigan said. “They’ve been able to come back.”

Here are the full first College Football Playoff rankings.

  1. Tennessee 
  2. Ohio State
  3. Georgia
  4. Clemson
  5. Michigan
  6. Alabama
  7. TCU
  8. Oregon
  9. Southern California
  10. LSU
  11. Ole Miss
  12. UCLA
  13. Kansas State
  14. Utah
  15. Penn State
  16. Illinois
  17. North Carolina
  18. Oklahoma State
  19. Tulane
  20. Syracuse
  21. Wake Forest
  22. NC State
  23. Oregon State
  24. Texas
  25. UCF
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