Tennessee, Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson prime first CFP rankings

GRAPEVINE, Texas — Undefeated Tennessee earned the No. 1 spot within the School Soccer Playoff’s preliminary High 25 rating on Tuesday, marking the primary time in this system’s historical past it cracked the highest 4, adopted by No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Clemson.

The 13-member committee ranked undefeated Michigan No. 5, and one-loss Alabama was No. 6 forward of undefeated No. 7 TCU. Alabama had been ranked within the prime three of the preliminary rankings in every of the previous six years. Alabama has by no means been decrease than No. 6 within the committee’s first rating, because it earned the identical spot in 2014.

Tennessee, which is averaging 49 factors per sport and leads the FBS in complete offense, grew to become the seventh totally different program to earn the highest spot at any level within the playoff period. The Vols entered Tuesday’s preliminary rating ranked No. 1 in ESPN’s Power of Document metric with one of the best win within the nation, in opposition to No. 6 Alabama.

Seven of the previous eight groups that had been ranked No. 1 within the committee’s first rating have gone on to succeed in the CFP. The one exception was Mississippi State in 2014, the primary season of the CFP.

At No. 8, one-loss Oregon was the Pac-12’s highest-ranked group.

Tennessee and Georgia will face one another on Saturday in a sport that may have a drastic impression on the committee’s second rating, and Ohio State and Michigan will in the end face one another of their regular-season rivalry sport.