Kirk Herbstreit reveals his final College Football Playoff Top 4, first team out

The entire college football world is awaiting the final College Football Playoff rankings reveal — but before the final field is set, Kirk Herbstreit took a stab at picking which four teams he believes deserves it the most.

His rankings are as follows:

1. Michigan
2. Washington
3. Texas
4. Alabama

That leaves out the undefeated ACC Champions in Florida State and the two-time defending national champions in Georgia out of the playoffs as the first two teams out.

“I think Michigan and Washington are the obvious two. I think there’ll be at one and two, but the real discussion is what [the selection committee] should do, versus what they will do,” Herbstreit said on ESPN Sunday morning. “In my opinion, I think Texas should be there three and I think Alabama should be there at four. What I think they’ll do is put Michigan and Washington and Florida State and then Texas. That’s what I think they’ll do. Nothing against Florida State, I think a lot of people look at what they’ve overcome considering the injuries at quarterback.

“Just to put it in perspective for an NFL audience, imagine Brock Purdy or Cincinnati Bengals losing Joe Burrow. Imagine a marquee face of your franchise going down at quarterback and putting in another guy and you know he fills the gaps but it’s not the same team. … If you’re looking for the best four teams, even though Florida State’s undefeated without Jordan Travis, I don’t think they’re one of the top four teams in the country.”

Taking Florida State out of the mix will be the first time in playoff history that an undefeated Power Five conference champion would not be grouped into the final field of four. Not to mention the ‘Noles also have eight wins over bowl eligible competition — the most of any team in the country.

At the same time, Alabama just handed Georgia its first loss in three years — by far the most impressive win of conference championship week. But if you put in Alabama, you have to put in Texas because the Longhorns took down the Crimson Tide on their home turf in September and are conference champions themselves, too.

All of our questions will be answered when the rankings are officially revealed by the selection committee at Noon ET live on ESPN. The CFP semifinals will be held on Monday, Jan. 1, and the national championship will be decided one week later in Houston.