For the first time this season, we have rankings that matter.
No offense to the fine folks voting in the AP and coaches polls every week, but those rankings no longer have any say in determining who plays for a national championship.
The ones that do, the College Football Playoff rankings, were released for the first time this season Tuesday night.
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Ohio State was the highest-ranked Big Ten team, coming in at No. 3 in the first rankings of the season. That's significantly different from the AP poll, which has ranked the Buckeyes No. 1 all season. Ohio State remains undefeated, but many are pointing out that the Buckeyes' schedule has been pretty light so far. That being said, big games against Michigan State and Michigan come later this month.
[MORE BIG TEN: Power Rankings: Big divide between top and bottom halves]
Clemson was ranked No. 1. LSU was ranked No. 2, and the Bayou Bengals would be the Buckeyes' College Football Playoff opponent if these were the final rankings. Alabama was ranked No. 4. Certainly, though, there will be a lot of change in these rankings between now and when the Playoff field is set in December.
The Big Ten's other two undefeated teams were also ranked in the top 10, with Michigan State at No. 7 and Iowa at No. 9. The Hawkeyes were among the lowest-ranked undefeated Power 5 teams in the rankings, the committee apparently pointing out their lack of quality wins.
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Michigan, with two losses, came in at No. 17. The Wolverines have quality losses to Utah and Michigan State, two of the top-12 teams in the rankings.
Northwestern was the fifth Big Ten team included in the rankings, ranked at No. 21. The Cats have wins over Stanford and Duke and losses to Michigan and Iowa.
Not included in the rankings were the Wisconsin Badgers, who have two losses to Alabama and Iowa, two top-10 teams.
[SHOP BIG TEN: Get your Buckeyes gear right here]
Here's a look at the entire top 25:
1. Clemson
2. LSU
3. Ohio State
4. Alabama
5. Notre Dame
6. Baylor
7. Michigan State
8. TCU
9. Iowa
10. Florida
11. Stanford
12. Utah
13. Memphis
14. Oklahoma State
15. Oklahoma
16. Florida State
17. Michigan
18. Ole Miss
19. Texas A&M
20. Mississippi State
21. Northwestern
22. Temple
23. UCLA
24. Toledo
25. Houston