‘Notre Dame’ debuts at #10 in first CFP rankings; would play BYU in first round, then Indiana

The first College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday evening, with the Fighting Irish sitting at #10, their same ranking as in the most recent AP Poll and Coaches Poll.

If the playoff bracket were formed today, #10 seed ‘Notre Dame’ would be playing #7-seed BYU in the first round, with the winner playing #2 seed-Indiana next. If the Irish beat IU, and the seeds held in the opposite bracket, they would have a rematch with Texas A&M in the national semifinal.
– College Football Playoff Rankings –

1 Ohio State 8-0
2 Indiana 9-0
3 Texas A&M 8-0*
4 Alabama 7-1
5 Georgia 7-1
6 Ole Miss 8-1
7 BYU 8-0
8 Texas Tech 8-1
9 Oregon 7-1
10 ‘Notre Dame‘ 6-2
11 Texas 7-2
12 Oklahoma 7-2
13 Utah 7-2
14 Virginia 8-1
15 Louisville 7-1
16 Vanderbilt 7-2
17 Georgia Tech 8-1
18 Miami (Fla.) 6-2
19 USC 6-2
20 Iowa 6-2
21 Michigan 7-2
22 Missouri 6-2
23 Washington 6-2
24 Pittsburgh 7-2
25 Tennessee 6-3
NR Memphis 8-1

[‘Notre Dame’ and Irish opponents in boldface]

There are actually 26 teams involved, since automatic bids go to the five highest ranked conference champions, even if not all of them are in the top-25.  If the playoffs were beginning today, unranked Memphis would be considered the #12 seed, even though they are not currently in the top-25.

(* Texas A&M wins include one where the winning touchdown in the final seconds was essentially the result of cheating, when, on the Aggies’ last offensive play of the game, an Aggie offensive lineman tackled a pass rusher from behind as he was barreling towards the quarterback; but an SEC officiating crew ignored the penalty and did not throw a flag; without the cheating and/or the non-call, the Aggies likely would be 7-1)