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Mississippi State at top of first College Football Playoff rankings

Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott celebrates after running for a touchdown against Kentucky on Saturday.
(David Stephenson / Associated Press)
By Chris Dufresne
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The drama is finally over, but only for now.

The first College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday produced three teams (surprise) from the Southeastern Conference’s West Division.

Mississippi State led the first poll, followed by Florida State, Auburn and Mississippi.

The top four teams in the final release on Dec. 7 will advance to the first playoff. The four teams will meet in semifinal games played this season in the Rose and Sugar bowls. The title game is Jan. 12 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Oregon is the odd-school-out at No. 5, but in seemingly strong playoff position because No. 3 Mississippi and No. 4 Auburn play each other this weekend.

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Alabama is No. 6, followed by Texas Christian, Michigan State, Kansas State and Notre Dame.

UCLA is No. 22, three spots higher than the team’s No. 25 ranking in the Associated Press and USA Today coaches’ polls.

The 12-person selection panel will release a top 25 every Tuesday through Dec. 7.

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Chris Dufresne

Chris Dufresne was the Los Angeles Times’ national college football/basketball columnist from 1995 to 2015. He also covered skiing at the Winter Olympics and wrote extensively on most sports. He is a multiple national award winner and was named 2011 California Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Assn. A Los Angeles native, he started at The Times in 1976 as a truck loader and literally worked his way up (two floors to be exact).

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