In the new era of a 12-team College Football Playoff, the 13-member selection committee on Tuesday night showed that dominant play can help overcome a weak schedule (hello, Indiana), and that two-loss Alabama is still in contention -- albeit with very little margin for error.
Ohio State's statement win at Penn State on Saturday catapulted the Buckeyes to No. 2 behind Oregon, a team it could meet again in the Big Ten title game -- unless the Hoosiers have something to say about it.
Below are the top five lessons learned from the first ranking, followed by eight teams outside the top 12 who could play their way in, and how the Group of 5 race stacks up.