To this point, college football fans have looked to the AP Poll every week to see where their team sits in the rankings. But on Halloween night, the College Football Playoff committee released the very first edition of the playoff rankings for the 2023 season, rendering the AP Poll obsolete.

There were not many big surprises in the first edition, with the Ohio State Buckeyes coming in at #1, Georgia at #2, Michigan at #3, Florida State at #4, and Washington and Oregon rounding out the top six respectively.

As for the Alabama Crimson Tide, it was no shock to see Nick Saban’s group come in at #8, one spot behind Texas, who of course defeated them in week two at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama was also ranked 8th in the AP Poll released on Sunday, so no movement there for the Tide.

You can see the full rankings here:

BREAKING: Initial College Football Playoff Rankings🚨https://t.co/fC18Mo4Ivx pic.twitter.com/bzwZGsHI1C

— On3 (@On3sports) October 31, 2023

Of course, Alabama will have to win out in order to have any hope of making the College Football Playoff. Given the teams ahead of them, it’s within the realm of possibility that Alabama might need some help as well. The Pac-12 situation is a precarious one, as is the possibility of Texas winning out and having the same record as Alabama.

But the next task for the Crimson Tide is this week with a matchup against the LSU Tigers, who are now ranked 14th in the nation. Alabama must avoid outside distractions such as rankings and take things one game at a time if it is to have any hope of playing on college football’s ultimate stage.

Follow Michael Brauner on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP