The initial College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday, and a popular topic is always how was strength of schedule factored into the committee's rationale.

It seems Alabama was the biggest beneficiary of a strong schedule despite its 6-2 record. ESPN's FPI — which is admittedly SEC-heavy — ranks the Crimson Tide's SOS as the third-toughest in the country. That metric was one CFP committee chairman Hunter Yurachek pointed to when asked why Alabama was ranked No. 5 in Tuesday's CFP reveal.

"It really came down to the quality of teams that Alabama has played and the quality of their wins," Yurachek said. "They've got a win on the road against the team we had ranked sixth. They've got a win versus South Carolina, a team we have ranked 21st. They have a win at Mississippi State when Mississippi State was at 4-0 at full strength with that dynamic quarterback that Mississippi State had earlier in the year, and Alabama has had seven of their eight games against teams that have a .500 record or better, and I think that's what's separated them from an undefeated UCLA or a one-loss team in BYU."

Notre Dame's strength of the schedule — or lack thereof (55th) — is likely a contributing factor to the Irish landing at No. 11, despite just one loss (to No. 9 BYU).

The key to being undefeated? Play a soft schedule. The nation's three remaining unbeaten teams Miami (49th), UCLA (77th) and Utah (83rd) have had cakewalks so far, though it seemed only UCLA was penalized for it (No. 8 in CFP).

Of the teams inside the top-12 of the CFP, Texas has the hardest remaining schedule (9th), while Indiana (47th) has the easiest road.

Here's a look at the strength of schedule rankings for Top 25 teams, remaining strength of schedule and overall hardest schedule this season so far.

CFP rankings Top 25 strength of schedule

CFP rankings Top 25 teams remaining strength of schedule

Strength of schedule heading into Week 10

1. Mississippi State

2. Auburn

3. Florida

4. Ole Miss

5. Oklahoma

6. Stanford

7. Alabama

8. Kentucky

9. Texas

10. Ohio State

11. Arkansas

12. Florida State

13. North Carolina

14. Wisconsin

15. South Carolina

16. Texas A&M

17. Purdue

18. Michigan State

19. Vanderbilt

20. Colorado

21. Oregon

22. Clemson

23. LSU

24. Tennessee