After decades of waiting, the country's first real glimpse at a College Football Playoff was revealed Tuesday.
The selection committee, led by chairman and Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long, unveiled the first set of top 25 rankings to much fanfare and consternation by announcing that Mississippi State, Florida State, Auburn and Ole Miss hold the inside track to the 2015 title as the top four teams in the country at the moment.
Yes, go ahead and start the "S-E-C" chant as the SEC West made up four of the top six spots in the top 25.
Not surprisingly, the committee's rankings did not differ from the established polls too much when it came to the teams involved, but their order varied considerably. In addition to the SEC weight at the top of the poll, Notre Dame was lower than some expected at No. 10, and Big 12 leader Kansas State found itself two spots behind TCU. Oklahoma was listed as the highest-ranked two-loss team at No. 18, and curiously, it was Nebraska, not Ohio State, that was listed as the second-best Big Ten team.
East Carolina is the only team that made the cut from the so-called Group of Five, giving it a good shot at a New Year's Day bowl game.
The 12-person selection committee evaluated strength of schedule, head-to-head results, and various other statistics in order to come up with their top teams.
Just over a month of college football remains to be played, so we're a long way from the playoff being set. But one can let the politicking begin after Tuesday's results.
The entire order of the College Football Playoff selection committee rankings:
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