How will the College Football Playoff committee rank the unbeatens?

Welcome to Week 9, the final round of games before the College Football Playoff selection committee releases its first rankings of the season on Tuesday. We'll see who gets the early foothold in the top four and see whether they can hang on through the sixth and final ranking on Dec. 8.

So who do you like?

People have complained about the lack of style points and opponents' strength in Ohio State's 8-0 start, but the Buckeyes are a lock for the initial ranking. Clemson and Louisiana State are undefeated, and their chances of getting an early seat at the table appear good. Then you have the Big 12, where the three unbeatens - Baylor, Texas Christian, and Oklahoma State - all play each other in November. Until then, it will be interesting to see how the committee considers strength of schedules in figuring the pecking order among the three.

Of course, Baylor has lost its quarterback, Seth Russell, for the remainder of the season due to a neck injury and will go with a freshman, Jarrett Stidham, who makes his first start next Thursday at Kansas State.

The Big Ten has two other unbeatens - Michigan State and Iowa - that probably won't be in the top four but definitely are contenders. After that, it's a big guessing game as to which one-loss team can spring to the front if some of the unbeatens falter. And you know they're going to falter.

Remember, three of last year's four playoff teams each had one loss by the end of October.

Depending on which side of the field you sit, there is nothing more exhilarating, devastating, joyful, and crushing than one team attempting a long field goal, and the opposing team returning it for a touchdown.

It happened twice last week: a 56-yard attempt by Florida State that was blocked and returned 78 yards for the score that gave Georgia Tech a 22-16 upset victory, and a 100-yard runback by Texas State of a missed 53-yard attempt by South Alabama just before halftime.

The Associated Press reported that, according to STATS L.L.C., Football Bowl Subdivision teams have made just 12 of 40 field-goal attempts (30 percent) from at least 53 yards out this season and 32 total going back to last season. During that same period, teams have completed 25 touchdown passes of at least 30 yards in the final 30 seconds of the first or second half.

As for returns of missed or blocked field-goal tries, STATS said FBS teams have scored 20 touchdowns the last three seasons - 10 in 2013, six last season, and four this year.

Nebraska is 3-5, on track to suffer its first losing season since 2007 and only its third since 1962. The Cornhuskers' five losses are by a combined 13 points. Last week, a missed two-point conversion pass proved to be the difference in a 30-28 loss to Northwestern. First-year coach Mike Riley, a veteran of 17 years as a head coach in the FBS and NFL, knows there will be "scrutiny about everything" with the passionate Nebraska fan base.

"When you're not winning, don't be surprised by the reaction," he said in a story on the team's football website. "You just kind of stick with what you know has to be done with your team."

The Big Ten has been putting on a defensive clinic this season. The conference's 14 teams have combined to allow 22.4 points per game, which would be the third-lowest figure since 2000, according to STATS. Michigan leads the nation in points allowed at 9.3 per game, with Wisconsin right behind them in second at 11.1. Penn State is 26th in scoring defense, averaging 19.3 points, and 23d in total defense, yielding 318.6 yards per game. In the Big Ten statistics, both those totals rank sixth.

The top ranked team in NCAA Division III, Mount Union of Alliance, Ohio, posted its 100th consecutive regular-season victory last week. But the only thing that most fans of the Purple Raiders see is that their team has lost the last two - and five of the last six - Division III national championship games to Wisconsin-Whitewater. A loss in the final makes for a long offseason.

"A lot of the answers that we try to come up with in the offseason stem from what we did in that game," coach Vince Kehres told the Associated Press.

This year, Mount Union has defeated all seven of its opponents by an average of 58-4.

Quarterback Kyle Lauletta of Richmond, who starred at Downingtown East High School, threw for a career-high 415 yards last week when the Spiders took control of first place in the CAA with a 59-49 win over James Madison. Lauletta, a redshirt sophomore, completed 19 of 31 passes, two of them for touchdowns. Richmond rolled up 720 yards of total offense against the Dukes.

Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford at Washington State

McCaffrey, son of former Stanford star and NFL wide receiver Ed McCaffrey, leads the nation in all-purpose yards with almost 260 per game. He has rushed for 953 yards and is tied for seventh in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 136.1 yards per game. He also averages 29.4 yards per kickoff return, ninth in the nation. He rolled up 369 all-purpose yards in an Oct. 15 win over UCLA, including a school-record 243 yards rushing.

Georgia vs. Florida, at Jacksonville, Fla., 3:30 p.m., CBS3: The winner in the renewal of this annual rivalry, dubbed "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party," gains first place in the SEC East. With neither team able to move the ball very well on the ground, the quarterbacks could be front and center here.

Clemson at North Carolina State, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2: The Tigers appear to be rolling along to a College Football Playoff ranking but can't afford to falter on the road. Quarterback DeShawn Watson, who has 15 touchdown passes, must be aware of a Wolfpack pass rush that has sacked opposing quarterbacks 19 times.

Michigan at Minnesota, 7 p.m., ESPN: The Wolverines had last week off to fully recover from their shocking last-second loss to Michigan State, but they run head-on into what could be an emotional scene in Minneapolis three days after Golden Gophers coach Jerry Kill announced his retirement.

Stanford at Washington State, 10:30 p.m., ESPN: The surprising Cougars will fill the air with passes - they average 56 per game - and try to close the gap on the Cardinal in the Pac-12 North. Stanford's Christian McCaffrey leads the nation in all-purpose yards, and quarterback Kevin Hogan runs a solid offense.

jjuliano@phillynews.com

@joejulesinq