As everyone knows, this is the first season of the College Football Playoff. Four teams will make it and everyone else will have some nice parting gifts. Take note that these rankings aren’t the top four teams in the country, they’re the four teams with the best chance to make the playoff.

#1 Florida State Seminoles

Make it 26 in a row for the defending champs. The ‘Noles seemingly sleepwalk through the first half every week then find a way to win late. They have been anything but dominant, but they’ll probably have a couple more close calls on their way to 13-0. If the ‘Noles are undefeated, there’s no way the committee can keep them out.

#2 Alabama Crimson Tide

This is not Alabama’s best team in the Nick Saban era, not even close to it, but the SEC isn’t quite as good as it’s been in recent years and they are the best in the SEC. ‘Bama should find a way to beat Auburn and if Georgia is the SEC East representative, it’s likely that the Tide will get by them as well. It’s entirely possible that ‘Bama can withstand another loss and still make the “Final Four.”

#3 Oregon Ducks

Oregon had a bye week, which should slow them down a bit, but with Colorado visiting Eugene next week, rust shouldn’t be much of a concern. The Ducks should win their final two regular season games easily, which sets them up for a Pac-12 title game matchup with Arizona State for a playoff berth.

#4 TCU Horned Frogs

This is where the controversy begins as TCU will be a difficult selection over now one-loss Mississippi State. The Horned Frogs have the biggest win of the two (against K-State) and a respectable loss (at Baylor). Mississippi State’s best win is probably a home victory against a now three-loss Auburn team.

Again, these aren’t the best four teams in the nation, they’re the teams that are most likely to make it into the national playoff. We believe that there will be a great amount of diversity in the committee’s selections and it remains to be seen how much weight they will put into conference champions.