College Football Playoff Rankings

And then there were four.

Despite some contrived Alabama discussion and Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban making seemingly desperate lobbying appearances on any network that would have him Saturday, there was little doubt who the four College Football Playoff teams would be when the selection committee made its announcement Sunday.

The only real drama was whether TCU would be the No. 3 seed or whether Ohio State would move up and set up a rematch with archrival Michigan.

Here is how it all shook out:

1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. TCU
4. Ohio State
5. Alabama
6. Tennessee 
7. Clemson
8. Utah
9. Kansas State
10. USC
11. Penn State
12. Washington
13. Florida State
14. Oregon State
15. Oregon
16. Tulane
17. LSU
18. UCLA
19. South Carolina
20. Texas
21. Notre Dame
22. Mississippi State
23. NC State
24. Troy
25. UTSA

It was all so straightforward heading into conference championship weekend.

Georgia, by virtue of going undefeated in the daunting SEC, and Michigan, with the most impressive win of the season over Ohio State on the road and a victory over Penn State to go with it, were locks regardless of the outcome in their respective conference title games.

TCU was fairly close to lock status considering it had already defeated Kansas State, its Big 12 Championship Game opponent. And USC was a win over Utah away from securing the fourth and final spot.

Utah had other plans.

The Utes not only ended USC's Pac-12 title hopes Friday, but they destroyed any real argument for the Trojans to make the four-team playoff with a dominant 47-24 win.

While USC quarterback and potential Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams was dealing with an injury, Utah dominated at the line of scrimmage. The Trojans defense also seemed to have no interest in actually tackling someone, which was a problem that haunted the unit at times all season.

USC's loss was Ohio State's gain, as the Buckeyes were No. 5 in the penultimate CFP poll and hoping for some chaos to gain an entry.

There is something to be said about Ohio State benefiting from not playing on conference championship weekend, but all 11 of its wins came by double digits, its only loss was to the No. 2 Wolverines, and a road win over No. 11 Penn State stands out compared to the resumes of USC and Alabama.

The drama wasn't done, though, as TCU lost a heartbreaker to Kansas State in overtime with the Big 12 title on the line. If there was a silver lining for the Horned Frogs, it was the fact the game came down to the final snap.

A blowout loss may have opened the door for more convincing politicking from Alabama, but the Crimson Tide have an extra loss compared to every contender and did not stack a number of impressive wins together.

Their best win was likely by one point over a four-loss Texas team that was without quarterback Quinn Ewers for most of the game. TCU also defeated the same Longhorns by seven in a game Ewers played from start to finish.

Alabama's loss to LSU also looked worse as the season progressed, as the Tigers fell to 5-7 Texas A&M and were completely dominated by Georgia on Saturday. Tennessee, which also defeated Bama, didn't help either by giving up 63 points in a loss to South Carolina on Nov. 19.

An argument can be made that Alabama's two losses came down to the final play, but it barely snuck past Texas, Texas A&M and Ole Miss in three of its wins. It could just as easily be 8-4 or even 7-5 as much as 12-0 if a few plays unfolded differently.

Now the arguments and lobbying are over, and attention turns to the actual games with the biggest question being will anyone challenge the reigning champion Bulldogs as they look to hold on to their crown.

Alabama is the reigning national champion and destroyed previously undefeated Georgia in stunning fashion in Saturday's SEC Championship Game to clinch its spot in the College Football Playoff, and somehow that wasn't even the biggest storyline heading into Sunday's reveal of the four-team field.

After all, Cincinnati made history.

The Bearcats became the first Group of Five conference team to make the CFP when the field was announced Sunday. They will be joined by Alabama, Georgia and Michigan in the chase for college football's ultimate prize:

1. Alabama

2. Michigan

3. Georgia

4. Cincinnati

5. Notre Dame

6. Ohio State

That means the Crimson Tide will face the Bearcats in one semifinal showdown at the Cotton Bowl, while the Wolverines will play the Bulldogs in the other at the Orange Bowl, both on New Year's Eve.

Did committee avoid UGA-Bama rematch or avoid an all-SEC championship?

Barta: "The answer is no."

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 5, 2021

Gary Barta says there was "strong consensus" in Cincinnati at No. 4.

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 5, 2021

Saban on Cincinnati: We think they belong in the Playoff. They beat some really good team. Been very consistent all year long. We have the proper respect (for them).

— Aaron Suttles (@AaronSuttles) December 5, 2021

The rest of the Top 25 was announced later in the day Sunday:

7. Baylor

8. Ole Miss

9. Oklahoma State

10. Michigan State

11. Utah

12. Pittsburgh

13. BYU

14. Oregon

15. Iowa

16. Oklahoma

17. Wake Forest

18. North Carolina State

19. Clemson

20. Houston

21. Arkansas

22. Kentucky

23. Lousiana

24. San Diego State

25. Texas A&M

Whether Cincinnati would complete its quest for the CFP was one of the season's biggest storylines as soon as it stunned Notre Dame in a 24-13 victory on Oct. 2.

It didn't hurt the Bearcats' cause that the Fighting Irish won the rest of their games while playing their way back into the playoff discussion. While the Irish fell short, their bounce-back efforts ensured Cincinnati would have one of the season's most impressive wins.

Head coach Luke Fickell's team also needed plenty of chaos around it.

The ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 didn't feature a single team with fewer than two losses. That meant typical powerhouses such as Clemson and Oklahoma were afterthoughts in the playoff race.

Oregon remained in the picture longer than the Tigers and Sooners thanks to its September win at Ohio State, but the Ducks' two losses to Utah down the stretch eliminated the Pac-12 as well.

With three of the five Power Five leagues out of the chase, Cincinnati had room to make the field even with the SEC taking half the spots. That became a reality Saturday when Alabama, which looked far more vulnerable than it usually does a number of times this year, beat the previously undisputed No. 1 Bulldogs in convincing fashion.

Perhaps a season that has been anything but typical will end in the familiar scene of Nick Saban holding up the national championship trophy, but the Crimson Tide may have to defeat Georgia again.

And then there is Michigan, which is a traditional powerhouse but had fallen off in recent years thanks largely to the dominance of the rival Buckeyes.

Michigan is the first team to reach the CFP after being unranked in the preseason AP poll.

— Chris Fallica (@chrisfallica) December 5, 2021

This year was different, though, as the Wolverines beat Ohio State for the first time in a decade and then parlayed the momentum they created from that into a 42-3 blowout of Iowa in Saturday's Big Ten Championship Game.

That contest put the finishing touches on a four-team field that is largely without controversy and features the reigning champions, a challenger from their own conference, a traditional powerhouse that has rediscovered its winning ways and the ultimate underdog. 

The national title game is set for January 10 in Indianapolis. 

The first set of 2021 College Football Playoff rankings dropped Tuesday evening, with Georgia, Alabama, Michigan State and Oregon consisting of the top four in that order while No. 5 Ohio State and No. 6 Cincinnati sat on the outside looking in.

The CFP committee didn't appear to have much disagreement regarding one-loss Alabama's placement, with chairman Gary Barta telling reporters that "there was a lot of consensus for Alabama to be No. 2."

Alabama is 7-1 thus far, with its lone loss occurring by a 41-38 score at No. 14 Texas A&M.

Georgia was the clear choice at No. 1. The 8-0 Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 303-53, with victories over No. 13 Auburn (34-10) and No. 18 Kentucky (30-13) among them.

The bigger question was at No. 2.

Cincinnati has gone undefeated but has struggled to defeat a pair of unranked teams with losing records in 2-6 Navy and 1-7 Tulane in the past two weeks.

Oklahoma is also undefeated but had issues taking down a 1-7 Kansas team on Oct. 13.

The 8-0 Michigan State Spartans just took down the No. 7 Michigan Wolverines 37-33 for one of the most impressive wins of the year, but MSU also struggled to beat a 2-6 Indiana team and the 3-6 Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Alabama has largely looked excellent outside its Texas A&M loss, outscoring its opponents 329-123, with a 42-21 win over No. 16 Ole Miss on its resume.

Ultimately, the initial CFP rankings mean nothing outside of creating talking points for fans considering that there's a month left of regular-season games alongside conference championship games up ahead.

For now, Alabama will look to defend its No. 2 spot as it hosts LSU on Saturday.