Predicting the CFP rankings: How will committee handle Ohio State, Georgia, Penn State?

The Big Ten and SEC became Saturday’s big winners.

Losses by Clemson and Pittsburgh in the ACC and Iowa State and Kansas State in the Big 12 increased the chance that those two leagues will be reduced to one playoff bid apiece and widened the path for the "Super Two" conferences to claim four playoff bids apiece.

The College Football Playoff committee will open a window into their thinking when the first playoff rankings are released Tuesday night.

How the committee operates is shrouded in mystery. Here’s how the committee describes its rankings process on the CFP’s website: The selection committee chooses the 12 teams for the playoff based on strength of schedule, head-to-head results against common opponents, championships won and other factors.

Well, that single sentence clears it up, doesn’t it?

The committee's lack of transparency is sure to heighten the controversy over its playoff picks. The public is not even privy to the strength of schedule metric, which SportSource Analytics provides to the committee.

Basically, the committee can make up whatever rationale it wants to justify its playoff field.

"Record matters," CFP executive director Rich Clark said Wednesday, "but we’re not trying to pick the most deserving teams. We’re trying to pick the best teams. This committee has got to look at (a team’s) entire body of work."

Here’s my prediction of what the top 12 of the rankings could look like come Tuesday night:

1. Oregon (9-0): This is the easy part. The Ducks are No. 1. The longer the season goes, the more dominant Oregon looks.

2. Ohio State (7-1): The Buckeyes timed their road win at Penn State perfectly, three days before the first ranking. That showing should linger in committee members’ minds as they search for a No. 2 team.

3. Georgia (7-1): The Bulldogs’ metrics are excellent, but their performance on the subjective eye test might be the difference between No. 2 and No. 3.

4. Miami (9-0): The committee can’t ignore the Hurricanes’ record, but Miami’s vulnerable defense will be the justification for barring it from the top three.

5. Penn State (7-1): The Nittany Lions won’t be overly punished for a one-score loss to OSU, and their schedule strength provides some separation with Texas, Tennessee and Brigham Young.

6. Texas (7-1): The Longhorns’ offensive and defensive balance helps them on the eye test, despite a middling strength of schedule.

7. Tennessee (7-1): The Vols’ dependable defense powers Tennessee’s playoff pursuit. The committee always respects Alabama, so Tennessee’s win against the Tide will put shine on the résumé.

8. Brigham Young (8-0): The Cougars own a nice win at Southern Methodist, but their strength of schedule trails one-loss teams ahead of them. This ranking will show the committee’s hand that they plan to make the Big 12 a one-bid league.

9. Notre Dame (7-1): The Irish’s soft schedule should prevent them from being ranked much higher, but the committee can point to wins against Texas A&M and Louisville to justify this ranking.

10. Indiana (9-0): The Hoosiers keep destroying opponents, but their weaker schedule leaves them vulnerable. Slotting Indiana here would give the committee a chance to bump the Hoosiers if OSU trounces them.

11. Alabama (6-2): Find someone who loves you the way the committee consistently loves the Script A. Alabama’s schedule strength positions it best among two-loss teams.

12. Boise State (7-1): A close loss to Oregon counts as a quality line on the Broncos’ résumé. They’re positioned for the Group of Five’s playoff bid, but they must win the Mountain West to snag it.

Here’s what else caught my eye in this view from the “Topp Rope”:

What’s wrong with Georgia’s Carson Beck?

I didn’t expect quarterback Carson Beck to be a factor holding Georgia back, but Beck has gone from team strength to liability at warp speed.

He threw three interceptions in Georgia’s sloppy 34-20 victory over Florida, giving him 11 interceptions in his past five games. He repeatedly forced passes into coverage. On his second interception, he needlessly threw a pass into triple coverage on first down.

Beck doesn’t look like the same quarterback without Brock Bowers serving as a security blanket.

Are we sure Beck gives Georgia a better shot than blue-chip backup Gunner Stockton? This wouldn’t be the first time Kirby Smart parked his best quarterback on the bench.

It took multiple JT Daniels injuries for Smart to elevate Stetson Bennett IV to the starting spot in 2021. Bennett went on to lead Georgia to back-to-back national championships, but what would have happened if Daniels didn't get hurt?

Knowing Smart’s history – in 2018, he kept rolling with Jake Fromm over Justin Fields – he’ll probably stick with Beck. Without seeing more of Stockton, it’s hard to know whether that's the right call, but it’s also tough to envision Georgia winning a national championship with Beck playing like he has lately.

“I don’t think anything’s wrong with him,” Smart said before the Florida game.

And I think Smart is the only one who feels that way.

Three and out

1. Hugh Freeze’s record dropped to 9-13 in two seasons at Auburn after the Tigers’ 17-7 loss to Vanderbilt, Auburn’s first-ever home loss to the Commodores. Bryan Harsin was 9-12 when Auburn fired him in Year 2.

Freeze’s recruiting class, ranked No. 5 in the 247Sports Composite, is the only argument for giving him a third season. That argument might be strong enough to retain Freeze, but he’d enter 2025 on a piping-hot seat, much like Billy Napier did at Florida this year.

2. Quarterback DJ Lagway’s injury gave Florida an excuse for blowing a lead in a 34-20 loss to Georgia, but let’s be honest, the Gators would have found a way to lose anyway. Finding ways to lose winnable games remains their speciality under Billy Napier. I’m now going to list the reasons why Florida should bring Napier back for a fourth season: ... .

Actually, I can’t think of any.

3. My latest "Topp Rope" playoff projection: Georgia (SEC), Oregon (Big Ten), Miami (ACC), BYU (Big 12), Boise State (Group of Five), plus at-large selections Tennessee, Texas, LSU, Ohio State, Indiana, Penn State, Notre Dame. Next up: SMU, Alabama, Iowa State, Texas A&M, Army.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. The "Topp Rope" is his football column published throughout the USA TODAY Network. Subscribe to read all of his columns.

(This story was updated to change a video).

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Predicting first CFP rankings: How will Ohio State, Georgia be ranked?