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Initial College Football Playoff rankings of 2020 season released

Alabama is No. 1

NCAA Football: College Football Playoff National Champions-Louisiana State Celebration Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The first edition of this season’s College Football Playoff Rankings was released Tuesday night.

Alabama is No. 1 in the rankings, followed by Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State.

Texas A&M is ranked fifth and Florida is sixth, giving the Southeastern Conference three of the top six teams. Georgia comes in at No. 9 and Auburn at No. 22, which gives the conference five teams in the overall rankings.

Alabama is No. 1 in the rankings for a record 19th time.

Unbeaten Cincinnati from the American Athletic Conference is ranked seventh, which is the best ranking for a non-Power Five team in the seven-year history of the selection committee’s top 25. BYU debuts at No. 14 despite also having a perfect start to its season.

In a historical context, every national champion since the 2016 season was slotted No. 2 in the initial rankings.

College Football Playoff Rankings, Nov. 24

  1. Alabama (7-0)
  2. Notre Dame (8-0)
  3. Clemson (7-1)
  4. Ohio State (4-0)
  5. Texas A&M (5-1)
  6. Florida (6-1)
  7. Cincinnati (8-0)
  8. Northwestern (5-0)
  9. Georgia (5-2)
  10. Miami (7-1)
  11. Oklahoma (6-2)
  12. Indiana (4-1)
  13. Iowa State (6-2)
  14. BYU (9-0)
  15. Oregon (3-0)
  16. Wisconsin (2-1)
  17. Texas (5-2)
  18. USC (3-0)
  19. North Carolina (6-2)
  20. Coastal Carolina (8-0)
  21. Marshall (7-0)
  22. Auburn (5-2)
  23. Oklahoma State (5-2)
  24. Iowa (3-2)
  25. Tulsa (5-1)