The first version of the College Football Playoff rankings were never going to replicate the polls that dropped Sunday.

Anyone paying attention should have never expected Georgia to be penciled in atop the first draft of the only rankings that matter Tuesday night.

It just doesn’t work that way. Never has.

So it shouldn’t be a surprise to see the two-time reigning champs to be down at No. 2 or that Ohio State was No. 1. The CFP selection committee has always been about the quality wins so the top two teams in the Associated Press poll since August should’ve never expected the same perch on the final night of October.

Georgia and Michigan simply have none.

Not yet but the month of November is set to sort things out one final time in this four-team format in a season that appears ideal for the 12-team version set to debut in 2024.

Ohio State’s wins over then-top-10 teams Notre Dame (17-14) and Penn State (20-12) weren’t works of art but offered the best resumé among the unbeatens

“Yeah, to your point, and thank you for asking, the win against Penn State, to win at Notre Dame, the win at Wisconsin, they’ve proven they can do it at home, they’ve proven they can do it on the road,” CFP selection committee chair Boo Corrigan said. “They have explosive plays. Down a receiver, Marvin Harrison, Jr., who’s clearly one of the top players in the country. As we look at it, as we evaluate it, it is part of the overall evaluation, but a top 5 defense that’s given up about 10 points a game really does play into it, as well.”

A year ago, Tennessee topped the first CFP rankings on the strength of its win over Alabama while Georgia was No. 2 (and top-ranked in the AP poll).

In terms of strength of schedule this fall, Ohio State is No. 22, according to Sagarin’s ratings.

Georgia is 81st and Michigan is 68th.

Alabama, meanwhile, has the third-toughest schedule with wins over CFP No. 17 Tennessee and No. 10 Ole Miss with its lone loss coming to No. 7 Texas. A Saturday visit from No. 14 LSU will either keep the Crimson Tide in the hunt or end any hope of another trip back to the playoff.

Georgia has yet to face a team ranked in the CFP top 25 but that will change with meetings the next three weeks. That begins with a Saturday visit from No. 12 Missouri, followed by No. 10 Ole Miss coming to Athens before heading to 17th-ranked Tennessee.

Michigan hasn’t played anyone and nobody’s come close to challenging the Wolverines. They’re a 33-point favorite again this weekend against Purdue (2-6, 1-4 Big Ten) before closing the season at No. 11 Penn State on Nov. 11 and home against No. 1 Ohio State.

There’s also a rather large elephant in the room and its wearing maize and blue.

The matter of Michigan’s scouting scandal was the topic of multiple questions posed to Corrigan on a Tuesday evening teleconference with reporters. Asked how the committee is handling those lingering allegations, Corrigan said they’re looking at the product between the lines.

“Michigan has played well all season,” he said. “The fact of the matter is no one knows what happened. We’re dealing right now — the NCAA is dealing right now with allegations only. The committee makes its judgments based on what happened on the field, and clearly Michigan has been a dominant team.”

As always, it’s a stay-tuned situation following the made-for-TV release of the initial CFP rankings.

It’s just a little more spicy this time around.

Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.