College Football Playoff 2019: Predicting Final Four After Week 11 Rankings

The order of the College Football Playoff rankings will change within a week.

Ohio State snagged the top spot in Tuesday's initial Top 25, but the winner of No. 2 LSU versus No. 3 Alabama could claim the first position with a win at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Later in November, the Buckeyes face a test against No. 4 Penn State, who kicks off a tough November at Minnesota on Saturday.

While Clemson may be annoyed with its No. 5 ranking, it sits in ideal position with two programs likely to fall out in the coming weeks.

Final Four Predictions

1. LSU

2. Ohio State

3. Clemson

4. Alabama

The result of LSU-Alabama is going to matter to the final ranking.

A close win by either side could allow the loser to make a case to the selection committee that it deserves a spot in the Final Four.

A stronger case can be made for the one-loss second-place team in the SEC West once a few more sides suffer their first defeats.

As for the game itself, LSU is in the best position possible to break its losing run against the Crimson Tide because of the Joe Burrow-led offense.

Head coach Ed Orgeron's team ranks fourth in the FBS in total yards and points per game, and it has outscored Auburn, Texas and Florida in its three ranked matchups.

Alabama is second to Ohio State in points per game, but it could be hampered by Tua Tagovailoa's health.

According to AL.com's Matt Zenitz, the left-handed junior is expected to play in the SEC West clash.

The Crimson Tide have a better scoring defense, but they have played significantly worse competition in their first eight games.

At the moment, Alabama's best win is over Texas A&M, who was on the fringe of the Top 25 on October 12.

Strength of schedule may have hampered head coach Nick Saban's team Tuesday, but it will improve with LSU and Auburn ahead in the next month.

A convincing win in the Iron Bowl and a close loss to LSU could be the combination that allows Alabama to sneak in as the No. 4 seed.

In that scenario, the Crimson Tide would finish with one loss and not participate in the SEC Championship Game.

If LSU, Ohio State and Clemson win their respective conference title games, the Crimson Tide would be compared to the Pac-12 champion and possibly one-loss Oklahoma.

The Sooners' loss to Kansas State could hold them back, as they have to work up from No. 9, while Utah's road defeat to USC would not look as good as a loss to LSU.

Oregon, who has a neutral-site loss to Auburn, could be the program that gets in over Alabama, but the decision could come down to small margins.

There is precedent for this to occur, as the Crimson Tide earned the No. 4 seed in 2017-18 after suffering a loss to Auburn and sitting out the conference title game.

The path is straightforward for both Clemson and Ohio State. If they win out, they will be part of the national semifinals.

Ohio State should enter its November 23 meeting with Penn State undefeated since it faces Maryland and Rutgers in the next two weeks.

If the Buckeyes do not slip up, they would possess wins over Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan and the Big Ten West winner.

Head coach Ryan Day's side ranks third in points scored per game and leads the FBS with 7.9 points conceded per contest.

With potential Heisman Trophy finalists on both sides of the ball in Justin Fields and Chase Young, the Buckeyes could continue to dominate the Big Ten.

Clemson has the easiest playoff path since Wake Forest is the lone ranked side remaining on its schedule.

Depending on how the LSU-Alabama game plays out, the Tigers could land in the Top Four as early as next Tuesday, and they definitely will once Ohio State squares off with Penn State.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from ESPN.