College Football Playoff Rankings 2021: Official Committee Releases Initial List

And so it begins.

The selection committee that will eventually determine the four College Football Playoff teams this season released its first set of rankings Tuesday. There was little drama at the top with the Georgia Bulldogs checking in at the No. 1 spot, but the remaining spots were very much up for grabs.

Here is a look at the full set of rankings:

1. Georgia

2. Alabama

3. Michigan State

4. Oregon

5. Ohio State

6. Cincinnati

7. Michigan 

8. Oklahoma

9. Wake Forest

10. Notre Dame

11. Oklahoma State

12. Baylor

13. Auburn

14. Texas A&M

15. BYU

16. Ole Miss

17. Mississippi State

18. Kentucky

19. North Carolina State

20. Minnesota

21. Wisconsin

22. Iowa

23. Fresno State

24. San Diego State

25. Pittsburgh

The obvious disclaimer here is the first set of rankings should be taken with a grain of salt. There is still plenty of movement ahead and marquee games to be played, and it is far more important to be in the top four when the last set of rankings is released than it is in the first rankings.

That has been clear since the College Football Playoff era started. After all, Ohio State checked in at No. 16 in the first-ever set of rankings during the inaugural playoff year in 2014 and went on to win the national championship.

With that in mind, the biggest storyline at this point of the season is whether a Group of Five squad can finally crash the four-team field that has always consisted of Power Five conference schools.

Cincinnati is better positioned to become the first than any team has in the past in part because of its recent past.

The Bearcats went undefeated during the 2020 regular season and lost a heartbreaker to Georgia by three points in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Technically last season is not supposed to factor into these rankings, but it is only human nature for the selection committee to remember a Bearcats team that had Desmond Ridder at quarterback and Luke Fickell at head coach challenging this year's top team.

Cincinnati's win at Notre Dame is also arguably the second-most impressive one of the season behind Oregon's victory at Ohio State. That win over the Fighting Irish continues to carry plenty of weight, especially since Notre Dame bounced back with three straight wins over Virginia Tech, USC and North Carolina to remain in the picture.

It isn't all good news for the Bearcats, though.

For one, their win at Indiana is far less impressive than it figured to be entering the season. The Hoosiers entered the year with plenty of promise after losing just one regular-season game in 2020 but are an ugly 2-6 in 2021.

Cincinnati also won't be able to counter some of the opportunities for massive wins down the stretch that other contenders have ahead.

Ohio State and Michigan State still play each other, and the Buckeyes finish their regular season with Michigan. Oklahoma still has matchups with ranked foes in Baylor and Oklahoma State. Alabama and Georgia are on track to play each other in the SEC Championship Game, and a Crimson Tide win could send both SEC teams into the CFP.

There is still plenty to be decided, but Cincinnati is at least in the mix. That is more than most Group of Five teams could say in the playoff era.