College Football Playoff Rankings: How to watch Week 1 rankings and predictions.

With nine weeks of football — and 75% of the season — behind us, it is time for the College Football Playoff Committee to reveal its initial Top 25 rankings.

The first release of the 2022 College Football Playoff Top 25 will be on Tuesday, November 1 at 6:00 PM Central on ESPN and streaming online and on the ESPN app. This is the first of six CFP ranking reveal shows, with the Top 25 being updated and announced weekly until the final Selection Day on Sunday December 4th.

This year, as in that season, the Crimson Tide enter the playoff scrum with a loss. Admittedly, it could be the best loss of any once-beaten, save Oregon. But unlike Oregon, Alabama has a strong SOS to buoy its record. It has now beaten five teams that are / were ranked in the Top 25, three of its toughest were all on the road, and two of them faced opponents coming off a bye.

For Alabama, being ranked in the initial cattle call is not unusual. It has appeared in every one to-date, with its lowest ranking being No. 4 back in 2014. And, once again despite its loss, the Tide are sitting handsomely with the 3rd best odds to win the CFP, at +800. This week, per Draftkings, Alabama is even favored by -13 in LSU. So, the Tide are doing something right, huh?

Complete odds to make the Playoffs, and hoist that ugly trophy, are over at our partner site, DK

Besides Alabama, there are some interesting names to add to the list.

• Clemson seemed like a strong contender for No. 1 overall...until this past weekend, when two of their three good wins took a hit, as both ‘Cuse and Wake lost bad games. NC State almost joined them.
• Then you have OSU, who have looked great overall, but simply haven’t played anyone of note. They have a win over unranked Penn State and Maryland as the centerpieces to their 76th-ranked schedule.
• To be the king, you kill the king. Georgia may have been the biggest beneficiary of South Carolina’s improbable 5-3 season to-date. In addition to an alleged quality win over a sketch Oregon team, they’ve pummeled USC and Arkansas too.
• TCU is undefeated, and has done it with both offense and defense — more impressively, they’re getting it done in a B12 which seems to better than it has as years, as the second-tier teams have ascended to VERY GOOD status.
• What about Michigan? Like OSU, they’ve not really beaten anybody. But they’re beating the hell out of them.
• Then you have the elephant in the room: Tennessee, who’s beaten Alabama, LSU, Florida. Does that offset the very poor rest of the schedule? (My guess is yes).
• Then you have the one-losses who have a strong body of work vying for a spot. To Alabama, you can add Kansas State, allegedly Oregon, allegedly USC, perhaps even Ole Miss — though all of these (aside from Alabama), suffer from poor SOS or a bad loss.

My guess?

1. Tennessee
2. Georgia
3. Ohio State
4. Clemson
5. Michigan
6. TCU
7. Alabama

So, where will the Tide land in all this? Discuss below: