Bill Hancock, executive director of the College Football Playoff and Tommy Bain, chairman of the Stadium Events Organizing Committee speak at a press conference to announce the events surrounding the National Championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Friday, August 29, 2014. (Rodger Mallison/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/MCT)In a highly-anticipated television broadcast Tuesday, the College Football Playoff Committee announced its first-ever Top 25. The rankings, which will ultimately decide the four teams to play in the first ever College Football Playoff, were subject to great speculation and anticipation throughout the entire season.
The top four of the initial rankings are Mississippi State, defending-champion Florida State, Auburn and Ole Miss.
Pac-12 leader Oregon is the first team out at No. 5 and SEC powerhouse Alabama sits at No. 6.
ASU was ranked No. 14 in the rankings which is where it ranks in the Coaches Poll.
UA sits two spots ahead of ASU at No. 12 and Utah, ASU's upcoming opponent this weekend, is in the hunt at No. 17. The Pac-12 has a total of five teams in the top 25 with two-loss UCLA sitting at No. 22.
The Committee initially began with 13 members but after Archie Manning stepped away to recover from knee surgery, a 12-person team including USC athletic director Pat Haden and former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, decided the rankings.
Unlike the preceding system, the Bowl Championship Series, which was based on mathematical formulas and computer analysis, the committee's determinations are entirely subjective.
According to the playoff's website, teams are judged based on strength of schedule, head-to-head results, comparison of results against common opponents, championships won and other factors.
Beyond that online description, little to no official word has been released as to what factors would be considered and how these factors would be weighed against one another.
The playoff will feature two semifinals games hosted at the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, followed by the National Championship game on Jan. 12 in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
College Football Playoff Committee Top 10
1. Mississippi State
2. Florida State
3. Auburn
4. Ole Miss
5. Oregon
6. Alabama
7. TCU
8. Michigan State
9. Kansas State
10. Notre Dame
Reach the sports editor at icbeck@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @ICBeck21
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