Takeaways from first College Football Playoff rankings: Oregon holds top spot

Here are the full top-25 rankings.

The first round games would be played with home field advantage for the higher seeded team, and there are some really intriguing possibilities there.

The most exciting of those potential matchups would be Penn State vs. Notre Dame in the No. 7 vs. No. 10 matchup.  That would be two of the most high-profile programs in the country, at one of the wildest stadiums in the country, in a playoff game with a potential trip to a national title game on the line. 

It would be a similar story with Texas hosting Alabama in the No. 6 vs. No. 11 matchup, and Ohio State hosting a playoff game at Ohio Stadium. 

Indiana being in the top-10 might be the biggest surprise from preseason expectations, as well as undefeated Army being in the top-25 at all. 

It is important to keep in mind this is just an initial ranking and there is still a lot of football to be played and a lot that can change in the coming weeks. 

The big race to watch is going to be in the Big Ten where Oregon and Ohio State are ranked as the top two teams in the country. The winner of that conference is going to get that important bye week into the quarterfinals and right now Oregon is in the driver's seat for that. 

The other important thing to keep in mind is that by adding more teams there is not as much emphasis on individual game results. A lot of these top teams that would have been eliminated in recent years with one or two losses are still very much in the running to get in. Sometimes just getting in and getting hot at the right time is all it takes to win a championship.