Oregon is No. 1, Ohio State is No. 2 and Georgia is No. 3 in the debut College Football Playoff rankings of the 2024 season.

History tells us not to get ahead of ourselves, especially given the expanded 12-team format set to be unveiled this December. With three or four games remaining in the regular season for the top playoff contenders, chaos across the Power Four could upend this final stretch toward the national championship.

And while the playoff selection committee will use the same decision-making process as during the four-team era, it’s impossible at this point to know how this group will eventually split hairs between teams with two or more losses from different Power Four leagues.

One unsurprising aspect of the initial release was the heavy presence of teams from the SEC and Big Ten. The two leagues make up seven of the top eight teams and 12 of the top 25.

In terms of surprises, the playoff selection committee seems high on No. 12 Boise State and No. 8 Indiana.

Here are the biggest winners and losers from the first rankings of the year:

Winners

The Big Ten

Despite having only four teams, the Big Ten outshined the SEC in these rankings. Not only did the league have the top two teams but all four representatives ranked in the top eight, with No. 6 Penn State hanging in the top group despite failing to score an offensive touchdown in Saturday’s loss to Ohio State and Indiana landing at No. 8 despite what is currently a pretty weak strength of schedule. At this moment, the conference has to feel extremely good about getting at least three teams in the bracket and maybe even all four. In terms of impacting the playoff, the biggest game left in November will be Indiana at Ohio State on Nov. 23.

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Indiana

This was an amazing debut ranking for the unbeaten Hoosiers. Indiana has been the success story of the Power Four under new coach Curt Cignetti, rolling off nine wins in a row for the best start in program history. In this case, the committee was able to look beyond a weak list of wins to focus on a dominant run through non-conference and Big Ten play. While the Hoosiers have only two wins against teams currently with a winning record, they’ve bulldozed teams behind the nation’s second-best scoring offense. Indiana didn’t trail in a game until going behind 10-0 to Michigan State this past Saturday and then rolling off 47 unanswered points.

Boise State

That the Broncos are the top-rated team in the Group of Five is unsurprising. While the schedule isn’t great, Boise State does have wins against No. 21 Washington State and UNLV along with a 37-34 loss to Oregon that clearly impressed the committee. Here’s what you should focus on when considering the team’s playoff hopes: The Broncos are close enough to No. 9 Brigham Young, the top-ranked team from the Big 12, that they could eventually end up as the fourth-best conference champion in the eyes of the committee. That would mean a first-round bye for the Broncos and a huge moment for Group of Five representation.

Losers

Clemson

The No. 23 Tigers did this to themselves with Saturday’s loss to No. 22 Louisville. That second defeat on the year sent Clemson tumbling out of the ACC championship picture, leaving No. 4 Miami and SMU on a collision course for an automatic playoff berth. The hope before Tuesday night was that Clemson would be close enough to SMU to take advantage should the Mustangs stumble this month or be blown out by the Hurricanes in the ACC championship game. But while the Tigers have the chance to add two high-quality wins against No. 18 Pittsburgh and South Carolina, the current gap is too much to overcome. This is a horrific starting point for Dabo Swinney and Clemson.

The SEC

While still heavily represented with eight teams in the rankings and three of the top seven, this wasn’t altogether a great night for the SEC. For one, Vanderbilt and South Carolina didn’t make the cut; this was surprising given the Commodores’ win against Alabama and the Gamecocks’ win this past Saturday against No. 14 Texas A&M. The committee also wasn’t very bullish on the thick second tier of SEC contenders. After Georgia, No. 5 Texas, No. 7 Tennessee and No. 11 Alabama came the Aggies, No. 15 LSU, No. 16 Mississippi and No. 24 Missouri. Again, the Big Ten came out looking better than the SEC in these rankings — we’ll have to see if that holds the next few weeks.

Brigham Young

This is good news and bad for unbeaten BYU. As noted, they are too close to Boise State to feel positive about earning that top-four spot with a loss at some point in November, even if the Cougars then rebound to win the Big 12 championship game against one of No. 17 Iowa State, No. 19 Kansas State or No. 20 Colorado. The committee is clearly holding against BYU some unimpressive wins, including against Southern Illinois and Wyoming in non-conference play. At the same time, there’s a degree of respect for wins against Kansas State and No. 13 SMU. Boiled down, the Cougars have to feel great about being ranked No. 9 and the clear path that exists for the playoff. But there should be some concern about the Broncos breathing down their neck.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Democrat Adam Schiff, the California representative who rose to national prominence for leading the first Trump impeachment trial, defeated Republican challenger Steve Garvey in the race for the U.S. Senate seat once held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, according to the Associated Press.

As widely expected, Schiff coasted to an easy victory over Garvey, with the race called minutes after polls closed at 8 p.m. PT, reflecting both the state’s overwhelming Democratic majority and the popularity of early voting. The quick results came in at the same time as the presidential vote in California, with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris the clear winner in her home state.

It’s the first Senate race in the state in eight years. Sen. Dianne Feinstein died in September 2023, leaving a wide-open field for a full six-year term beginning January 2025.

On the California ballot are two separate races for Senate: one for the brief remainder of Feinstein’s term ending January, and the other for a full new term beginning immediately afterward. Both Schiff and Garvey are running for both.

Schiff, a California representative who rose to national prominence for leading the first impeachment trial in 2020, was heavily favored to win the race for most of the campaign, according to polls stretching back several months.

Sign-up for Your Vote: Text with the USA TODAY elections team.

In a poll released by UC Berkeley on Oct. 11, Schiff led with support from 53% of the state’s likely voters, while Garvey had 36% and another 11% undecided.

Garvey, a former baseball player, has never held political office. After retiring from Major League Baseball in 1988, he remained a celebrity figure and worked as a motivational speaker.

He played football and baseball at Michigan State University, before joining the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1969, and the San Diego Padres in 1982.

Schiff was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000, representing much of central Los Angeles, including Hollywood, California, Pasadena, California, and Glendale, California.

Over the past several years the congressman has become a leading voice and popular media figure within the Democratic Party, often speaking in opposition to MAGA Republicanism and attracting the ire of former President Donald Trump.

Race for Senate seat was competitive during the primary

The race for California’s first open Senate seat in eight years unofficially started when Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Democrat and former EMILY’s List President Laphonza Butler to the seat shortly after Feinstein’s death. She declined to enter the race, ensuring no candidate had the power of incumbency, even if short.

Ultimately, Schiff and Garvey were the top two vote-getters, garnering roughly 31.5% of the vote, while the two other leading Democratic challengers, Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee, fell behind. The four-way primary race was once thought to end with a Porter-vs-Schiff ticket, but the Orange County congresswoman failed to keep up against Schiff’s massive fundraising muscle and targeted campaign seeking to box her out and secure an easier road to victory in November.

Though Garvey had succeeded in consolidating California’s Republican voters despite his lackluster debate performances and paltry campaign spending, the November race was always a long shot.

While the state’s 58 counties run the ideological gamut, from Democratic cities like San Francisco to Republican swaths of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges to purple swing districts in the agricultural Central Valley, statewide, California is still deep blue. Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 2-to-1, and no Republican has held a statewide office for decades.

Kathryn Palmer is an elections fellow for USA TODAY. Reach her at kapalmer@gannett.com and follow her on X @KathrynPlmr.

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani underwent successful surgery on Tuesday on the left shoulder he injured during Game 2 of the World Series and will be ready for spring training, the Los Angeles Dodgers said.

The Japanese pitcher-hitter dislocated his shoulder while attempting to steal second base in the seventh inning and needed help leaving the field but returned to play the rest of the series, which the Dodgers won 4-1 over the New York Yankees.

‘Shohei Ohtani today underwent successful arthroscopic surgery, performed in Los Angeles by Dr. Neal ElAttrache, to repair a labrum tear that resulted from a left shoulder dislocation Oct. 26,’ the team said in a statement.

‘He is expected to be ready for spring training.’

All things Dodgers: Latest Los Angeles Dodgers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

The 30-year-old still had a season for the ages at the plate on the basepaths, becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases in a single season, making him the inaugural member of Major League Baseball’s 50/50 club.

Ohtani signed a record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers, where he won his first title and helped set MLB viewership records in Japan.

Ohtani is poised to win his third MVP trophy in four seasons later this month and is expected to pitch again next year.

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The College Football Playoff selection committee harbors a November crush on the Big Ten’s crème de la crème, with no love spared for the Big 12.
BYU is ranked No. 9 despite being undefeated and touting some quality victories.
Big Ten, SEC are well-positioned for four CFP bids apiece.

The College Football Playoff selection committee harbors a November crush on the Big Ten’s crème de la crème.

The first CFP rankings paved a path for the Big Ten to snatch four spots in the 12-team playoff, including multiple teams seeded high enough to host first-round games.

The Big Ten’s No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 6 Penn State and No. 8 Indiana accounted for half the spots in the CFP’s top eight.

Here are my five burning reactions after these initial rankings.

When in doubt, CFP committee values eye test

You can’t make a compelling case for Texas to be ranked as high as No. 5 other than the Longhorns looked awesome throughout the season’s first six games on the eye test – against a forgiving schedule, we should add. Texas stockpiled an impressive assembly of talent on each side of the ball, but the Longhorns showed vulnerabilities in their past two games against Georgia and Vanderbilt, and their strength of schedule trails Penn State and Tennessee, two other one-loss teams. The committee ranked Texas ahead of both, and also in front of undefeated Brigham Young, a nod to the Longhorns’ early season ace-grade on the eye test.

Likewise, undefeated Indiana received some committee love despite having the softest strength of schedule among teams slotted into the current bracket. The Hoosiers look fabulous on the eye test on both sides of the ball. They’re not just beating opponents, they’re blowing them out.

The Hoosiers’ ranking tells me they can afford a loss later this month at Ohio State and still make the playoff – assuming they don’t get blown out.

BYU got snubbed, and that stings for the Big 12

The ACC and Big 12 each are vulnerable to becoming one-bid leagues, but the ACC retains an avenue to two qualifiers.

If No. 13 SMU wins out and claims the ACC’s automatic bid, the committee positioned itself with these rankings to award an at-large bid to No. 4 Miami.

The Big 12 found no such luck.

No. 9 BYU became the Big 12’s lone representative ranked inside the top 16.

If BYU wins the Big 12, the conference almost certainly will be a one-bid league. If the Cougars lose in the Big 12 championship game, they might slide to the wrong side of the bubble, thereby still limiting the Big 12 to one bid.

The committee really did BYU dirty. The Cougars play complementary football. They’re among 11 teams that rank in the top 25 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense.

They’re the only team to beat SMU – and they did so on the road.

They’re one of two teams to beat Kansas State – and they routed the Wildcats.

BYU’s schedule strength compares to that of Texas, which lost at home to Georgia, but the Cougars are ranked four spots behind the Longhorns. BYU also came in one spot behind Indiana, which has faced a squishier schedule.

“Indiana’s strength of schedule is not at strong as BYU’s, but what Indiana has done on the field when they’re winning those games, they’re winning by double digits,” CFP committee chairman Warde Manuel explained on ESPN.

Manuel specifically was asked about the gap between No. 4 Miami and BYU.

“It came down to more of an eye test,” Manuel said.

The upshot: Style points matter, and the committee just isn’t smitten by BYU and the Big 12.

Big Ten, SEC set up nicely for CFP bracket

The Big Ten and SEC are positioned beautifully for four bids apiece.

Ohio State and Indiana are the Big Ten’s only ranked teams scheduled to play each other, and the committee’s early respect for each team gives cushion for either to absorb a loss in that clash and still make the playoff.

Seven SEC teams are ranked inside the top 16. The committee’s tough choice on the SEC will come down to which teams to admit.

The committee’s task will be more challenging if No. 16 Ole Miss upsets Georgia on Saturday. A win by the Rebels would carve out the possibility of as many as six SEC teams building playoff credentials, with with not much separation among team.

Boise State (almost) got the respect it deserves

Some would say the committee put respect on Boise State’s name by awarding a No. 12 ranking to the Group of Five darling. I say the committee could have justified ranking the Broncos a couple of spots higher.

Boise State owns quality wins against No. 21 Washington State and UNLV, and the Broncos pushed Oregon to the brink in a 37-34 loss in September.

The Broncos enjoy the catbird positioning for the Group of Five’s playoff bid, and if you combine a BYU loss with Boise State winning out, the Broncos could elevate their position into earning a first-round bye.

Byes are reserved for the top four conference champions. Based on these rankings, it’s not automatic that the Big 12 will claim one of those byes.

The cutline for an at-large playoff bid

Based on résumé, future schedules and this peek into the committee’s insight, I’m drawing the cutline at No. 16.

If you’re a Power Four team ranked No. 16 or better, you retain a chance of earning an at-large bid. Those ranked 17th or lower probably need to win a conference championship to earn entry. That leaves out one-loss Pittsburgh and Iowa State and two-loss Kansas State and Clemson.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. Subscribe to read all of his columns.