The first College Football Playoff rankings will be announced Tuesday and it’s going to be pure chaos.

First, BYU defeats Notre Dame, 28-24, two weeks ago and then loses, 39-31, to unranked Central Florida in overtime. So, now they each have one loss but the Cougars are ranked behind the Irish in this week’s AP poll. Classic.

The SEC teams just keep beating up on each other and there’s a real question as to how many teams in that league will "survive" with two losses or less and automatically qualify for the CFP. Give commissioner Greg Sankey credit for going to a nine-game conference schedule because the extra game guarantees an extra loss for eight teams. The SEC teams have been assured the strengths in their schedules will be seriously considered by the CFP Committee. How’d that work out for Texas last year?

In the Big Ten, with its unbalanced schedule and awful teams at the bottom (Rutgers and Maryland, who are so bad, they’re offering potential free tuition to any student who stays for the fourth quarter), No. 7 UCLA has emerged as a CFP threat even though the Bruins lost their starting quarterback, haven’t beaten anyone of substance and don’t play Indiana, Ohio State or even Michigan. The Atlantic Coast Conference? Do you really think No. 14 Wake Forrest or No. 17 SMU are that good? It’s all Miami, which is legit but untested.

In the final year before the CFP expands to 24 teams, everything matters and it's why these regular-season games are still meaningful and the College Football Playoff so controversial. When it’s all said and done this year, there will be debate, self-serving promotion and ultimate selections. Next year, it won’t be who didn’t get in, it will be who wasn’t seeded correctly. Big deal.

Then there’s the aftermath, the disappointment and the anger. That’s why Notre Dame, stunningly left out last year at 10-2, refused to participate in a bowl. They took their football and went home. Selfish? Immature? Now when you haven’t won a national championship since 1988 and you're met with another year of disappointment, perhaps you needed time to grieve.

No tears for USC's Riley

Speaking of grieving, how about Southern California fans. Head coach Lincoln Riley has had to answer questions about his failure to get the Trojans to the CFP and he is clearly stressed out. “I love it here," Riley said. "Like I told you guys a lot of times, there’s not many people in college football history that gave up what I gave up to come here.” Gave up? You cashed in. You left Oklahoma after losing to Oklahoma State in the final regular-season game and literally within 24 hours signed a 10-year, $110 million contract at USC. What you left behind was your reputation as a faithful and loyal coach. That’s gone. It’s inconceivable that any coach can be committed to his players and winning when, behind the scenes, there’s a new contract he’s ready to sign as soon as as his team is eliminated from CFP consideration. That’s called a conflict of interest. Even Lane "Benedict" Kiffin was transparent. What’s happening to you now after last week’s 24-7 loss (the lowest points scored by any Riley-coached team) to Wisconsin, is called karma.

Tough breaks

Sad news out of Eugene, Oregon. where quarterback Dante Moore has been ruled out for the season with a concussion. Moore, who was almost a certain No. 1 draft pick if he declared for the NFL last year, returned to improve his skills and his draft status, but was lost early in the year after USC's Desman Stephens II's violent illegal hit. His future is now unfortunately uncertain.

∎Dave Doeren is out at N.C. State after 14 years and Dave Aranda after seven seasons at Baylor. While they both enjoyed some success, in the end, results matter and both schools want to make some championship noise in their respective leagues. That might be too much to ask for from any coach at these fine institutions but “junior varsity” schools on the football field. Still, it won’t stop administrations from trying, especially with Indiana’s success. If it can happen there, it can happen anywhere.

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Notre Dame, BYU and the looming chaos of the CFP rankings

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