Paul Finebaum reveals his College Football Playoff Top 4 and 1 after Statement Saturday

The first College Football Playoff Rankings came out on Halloween. With that, there was a better picture of where every team currently stands in the eyes of the selection committee, even if not everyone agrees with where teams are ranked.

Now, with another week of date, there are bound to be more changes coming to where teams are lined up in the College Football Playoff rankings. Ahead of those new rankings, though, analyst Paul Finebaum appeared on SportsCenter, where he shared who he thinks the rank and file currently are for the Playoff. That includes the four teams in and the first team out as of right now.

Notably, this isn’t a prediction of the CFP rankings by Finebaum. Instead, it’s his opinion of where teams should be ranked.

1. Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia came in second for the initial College Football Playoff rankings. That was, largely, because of the Bulldogs’ relatively weak strength of schedule. It was also something that Paul Finebaum made it clear that he disagreed with at the time. Now, a week later, Finebaum still has the two-time defending national champions in the top slot.

There is a good chance that Georgia does jump Ohio State in the CFP rankings after beating a ranked Missouri team. However, it isn’t a sure thing at this point. Still, with multiple games against ranked opponents on the schedule for Georgia in the coming weeks, the Bulldogs have a good shot at finishing first.

2. Ohio State Buckeyes

After a slow start against Rutgers, Ohio State turned it on in the second half and managed to stay unbeaten on the season. Despite not always passing the eye test as much as some experts would like, the Buckeyes are still in excellent position to make the Playoff this season, with a strong resume that includes wins against Notre Dame and Penn State.

In the final week of the season, Ohio State is going to get its biggest test when the Buckeyes take on Michigan. The Wolverines have beaten the Buckeyes two seasons in a row and the winner of that game will, likely, once again be playing for the Big Ten Championship out of the East and almost assuredly secure a spot in the College Football Playoff.

3. Michigan Wolverines

If Michigan has been distracted by the NCAA investigation into the program for sign-stealing, it hasn’t shown up on the field. Most recently, the Wolverines stayed unbeaten against the Purdue Boilermakers. Still, the true tests for Michigan are still to come against Penn State and Ohio State in the coming weeks.

Ultimately, despite how well Michigan has played, Paul Finebaum only has the Wolverines third in his Playoff rankings because of their schedule to this point. There really hasn’t been much to test the Wolverines and while that is going to change in the future, for now, it makes for a relatively weak resume when compared to other elite teams this season.

4. Florida State Seminoles

Florida State remained unbeaten over the weekend despite a sleepy start to the game against a bad Pitt team. That game came amid several injuries to the Seminoles. However, it’s also a game that the Seminoles can’t afford to lose at this point. Even with several good wins early in the season, the remaining schedule isn’t particularly difficult for Florida State and the Seminoles will likely need to be perfect to make the College Football Playoff.

Next week, Florida State takes on a struggling Miami team. Then, the Seminoles have games against North Alabama and Florida. After that, it’s the ACC Championship without room for error in a competitive field.

5. Washington Huskies

The Washington Huskies looked like they had taken a step back after beating the Oregon Ducks. However, with a game on the road against USC, the Huskies are once again among the best respected teams in the country. In particular, Washington’s offense has been phenomenal and can keep the Huskies in any game.

Still, at this point, the College Football Playoff race is very competitive. Teams like Oregon and Alabama are right there for Paul Finebaum. For now, Washington is in this spot because of what they were able to do on the road to USC.

Each of the Power Five conferences still has at least one team that has a legitimate shot at making the College Football Playoff. The field is incredibly competitive at this point. However, as time goes on and more unbeaten teams lose, that CFP picture is only going to become clearer and clearer.