Normally, the first College Football Playoff rankings come out around the point of the season where every unbeaten FBS team, no matter how small, has built up some measure of credibility.
However, two undefeated squads were left out of this year’s first rankings Tuesday evening: James Madison and Liberty.
The case of the Dukes is straightforward, if somewhat controversial: James Madison is ineligible for both Sun Belt and national accolades because the Dukes are in the process of transitioning from FCS to FBS. Thus, an 8–0 team ranked 23rd in the AP Poll will not receive CFP ranking consideration going forward, despite an unbeaten ledger and a win over Virginia.
