College Football Rankings 2015: Top Teams, Playoff Predictions from First Polls

Just in case the 2015 college football season wasn't exciting enough, things were ramped up a bit more on Tuesday night after the first College Football Playoff rankings of the year were released. 

While the AP Polls mostly take results into consideration, the playoff committee includes the teams' strength of schedules and where they rank among each other. 

For those reasons, only three of the four teams of the new rankings are undefeated. Let's take a look at the CFP's Top-25 rankings and my very early predictions of which four teams will be vying for the national championship:

College Football Playoff Prediction

1. Clemson

2. Alabama

3. Ohio State

4. Notre Dame

Obviously, the four teams that currently reside in the top four spots would like to stay there, but things are all but guaranteed to change as soon as next week. 

No. 2 LSU travels to Tuscaloosa for a Nov. 7 tilt against No. 4 Alabama, the lone beaten side in the Top Four. It will be a desperate Alabama side, who would see its national title hopes all but vanish if they lose to LSU. There are too many unbeaten sides, even if they have easier schedules, that will take their place. 

For a big All-SEC matchup, some think the rankings were a bit too favorable for LSU and Alabama, like ESPN's Danny Kanell:

As well as USA Today's Dan Wolken:

Both teams have faced and beaten plenty of ranked opponents already this season, which means Saturday is sure to be another exciting affair between the two. Because it's such an evenly matched game, I'm going to use home-field advantage as tiebreaker and say that Alabama gets the win. 

I think that would drop LSU out of the playoff and would allow the likes of either No. 5 Notre Dame or No. 6 Baylor into the Top Four. Without their starting quarterback, Seth Russell, who is out for the season with a neck injury, I can't see Baylor running the table, especially with the likes of Oklahoma State and TCU waiting for them.

Elsewhere in the Top Four, if No. 1 Clemson is able to hurdle Florida State on Saturday, they should have a fairly clear path to the playoff. But head coach Dabo Swinney knows there's a lot more to go, as he told ESPN College Football:

For No. 3 Ohio State, the last two games of the season will be their last roadblocks to a second consecutive playoff. They first host Michigan State on Nov. 21 and if they are able to get past the currently 8-0 Spartans, the Buckeyes have their archrival Michigan Wolverines waiting for them at the Big House. 

Those are two pressure-packed games and a perfect precursor to the playoffs. Win both of those games, and I would have them as a favorite to get back to the national championship.