The College Football Playoff committee had one surprise when its initial ranking was released Tuesday evening.
As the last remaining unbeatens among the Power Five, Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame appeared set to be in the top three spots.
The Crimson Tide and Tigers were in the first two places as expected. However, it was LSU ahead of the Fighting Irish in the third spot even though the Tigers have one loss.
LSU does have some impressive wins that boosted its stock, including a defeat of Miami on a neutral field, a win at Auburn and an upset of Georgia at home.