It's not the set of rankings fans are most eagerly awaiting, but the newest Associated Press Top 25 poll may provide some insight into the thinking of the College Football Playoff selection committee.

As expected, Michigan is the new No. 1 team with Georgia falling in the SEC title game. The Bulldogs slipped to sixth, with conference champion Alabama climbing up from eighth to fifth.

1. Michigan

2. Washington

4. Florida State

5. Alabama

6. Georgia

7. Ohio State

9. Missouri

10. Penn State

11. Ole Miss

12. Oklahoma

14. Arizona

15. Notre Dame

16. Louisville

18. Liberty

19. North Carolina State

21. Oregon State

22. Oklahoma State

23. Tulane

24. James Madison

25. Tennessee

After championship week, half of the playoff field is locked in.

The Wolverines are all but guaranteed to be the top seed after shutting out Iowa 26-0 in Jim Harbaugh's return to the sideline. It wasn't a comprehensive performance, with the Hawkeyes defense holding Michigan to 213 total yards, but that's largely irrelevant thanks to the result.

Washington will presumably occupy the No. 2 seed after outlasting Oregon in the Pac-12 championship.

The Huskies were up 20-3 in the first half before the Ducks scored 21 unanswered points to take the lead. Washington jumped back ahead, and Michael Penix Jr. iced the game for his team with a two-yard touchdown pass to Quentin Moore with 2:44 on the clock. While Bo Nix hit Traeshon Holden for a quick TD, Oregon was unable to recover the ensuing onside kick.

After Michigan and Washington is where the intrigue begins.

The committee could take a pretty straightforward approach.

Florida State capped off a perfect regular season with a 16-6 win over Louisville in the ACC title game. Meanwhile, Texas is leaving the Big 12 on top after cruising past Oklahoma State 49-21. You have an unbeaten Power Five champion and another P5 champ with a head-to-head win on the road over Alabama. This doesn't have to be too complicated. The Seminoles and Longhorns would fill out the playoff bracket.

Matt Hinton @MattRHinton

it stinks but if I'm on the committee Alabama is the odd team out. sorry. results have to matter. can't punish 13-0 FSU for a key injury and can't ignore Texas beating Bama head-to-head. terrible place to be but when you get right down to it the debate was settled on the field.

Ben Axelrod @BenAxelrod

I think it's gotta be Washington, Michigan, Florida State &amp; Texas. You can't leave out an undefeated conference champion and Texas beat Alabama H2H. <br><br>Sorry Bama, you lost to the one team on your schedule you couldn't afford to lose to. That's how it works in this system.

If the committee wants to take the four strongest teams, on the other hand, then Alabama arguably gets the edge over Florida State.

The 'Noles were down to their third-string quarterback against Louisville, and even if backup Tate Rodemaker is healthy in time for the CFP semifinals, this is clearly a worse squad without Jordan Travis. In the two games since Travis' injury, FSU has totaled 443 total yards of offense.

Peter Burns @PeterBurnsESPN

If committee's task is to select best 4 teams in college football there is no way they can select Florida State.<br><br>If they want to go the most deserving route, I can almost buy that argument.<br><br>But not the "best" argument.<br><br>Alabama, Georgia &amp; Texas would destroy FSU w/ backup QB

This year is certainly making a compelling case for an expanded playoff.

Under the new 12-team format coming for 2024, fans would be arguing over whether Ole Miss or Oklahoma should be the No. 11 seed, with the highest-ranked Group of Five team to claim the last spot. That just doesn't quite carry the same importance as debating between Texas, Florida State and Alabama for a place in the semifinals.