Halloween: Ghosts, goblins and first college football playoff rankings

Halloween is the day we've all been waiting for.

No, it's not the anticipation of seeing how many people dress up like Donald Trump. It's the unveiling of the first rankings of the 14-member College Football Playoff selection committee, finally giving us a chance to see and hear its thoughts on the many teams desiring one of the four coveted postseason spots.

The media and coaches polls have guided us the last nine weeks, but now we'll get a better idea of which teams committee members like and don't like. Do they think Wisconsin is overrated at No. 5? How badly do they feel Notre Dame is underrated at No. 9? What's the order of the unbeaten and the one-loss teams?

A number of games Saturday – particularly Penn State at Ohio State – will have a major impact on Tuesday's list. It's a big day for the Big 12, with matchups between Texas Christian and Iowa State and Oklahoma State and West Virginia having an influence.

Then there are North Carolina State at Notre Dame, Georgia vs. Florida, Georgia Tech at Clemson.  Just what will the committee be thinking when it gathers for its initial meeting Monday in Grapevine, Texas?

Some notes: Tuesday night's unveiling on ESPN will be the first of six polls, the final one coming on Dec. 3. The 14-member committee comprises five athletic directors, five former head coaches, a university president, a former NCAA executive, the CFP executive director, and a former sportswriter. Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt is the committee chair.

Last year's first ranking listed a top four of Alabama, Clemson, Texas A&M, and Michigan. The Crimson Tide and the Tigers went on to reach the playoff. The other two qualifiers, Washington and Ohio State, were fifth and sixth, respectively, in Week 1. Michigan was ranked sixth in the final 2016 poll, and A&M completely fell out of the top 25.

Notre Dame's resume to this point is impressive: 6-1 coming off a notable rout of then-No. 11 Southern California; its only loss by one point to undefeated Georgia; three games remaining against ranked teams, including Saturday at home vs. No. 14 North Carolina State.

However, when people mention a chance at being in the playoffs to coach Brian Kelly, he has a quick answer.

"We've been in the playoffs since we lost to Georgia," he said this week. "Everybody is talking about getting to the playoffs. Every game we play is a playoff game. Our guys don't know it any other way. We don't have anything else to play for. That's what we play for.

"We're an independent football team, and our mission is to graduate all of our players and play for a national championship. That's all we have. It's not really any different than it was yesterday or the day before or last week."

So how strange was it earlier this week for Florida coach Jim McElwain to bring up death threats that he said had been received by Gators players and their families, even though he did not contact police after they allegedly happened?

McElwain said Wednesday, two days after making the revelation, that he was wrong to bring up the threats but that it was hard to leave it alone. He said he was "confident we're all right."

McElwain met with administrators Monday, which was followed by an athletic department statement saying the coach "offered no additional details." McElwain later said he felt good after the meeting and did not "quite really understand what the statement was."

He said the Gators have moved forward for Saturday's game against No. 3 Georgia.

While Big Ten heavyweights Penn State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Michigan State jockey for playoff position, other teams in the conference are just struggling to stay alive for bowl consideration.

Maryland gained an impressive season-opening road win at Texas but now is 3-4 and plagued by injuries. Purdue matched its 2016 victory total of three on Oct. 7 but hasn't won since. Iowa and Minnesota have lost three of their last four after starting 3-0. Indiana's close losses to Michigan and Michigan State have left the Hoosiers at 3-4.

The magic number for bowl eligibility is six wins. Ten of the conference's 14 teams made a bowl last year.

Here's to North Carolina State junior quarterback Ryan Finley, who has thrown 313 consecutive passes without an interception dating to last Nov. 19. "Ryan's had the opportunity to stand tall and throw the football, and his receivers have fought for him," Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren said. "He doesn't make stupid decisions. He understands the importance of field position, and he doesn't want to hurt his football team. He knows the next play, he could throw a touchdown."

Matt Ammendola traveled west from Lansdale to walk on at Oklahoma State, and now holds down the field-goal and extra-point duties for the 11th-ranked Cowboys. The North Penn High School graduate, a redshirt sophomore, has made 11 of 16 field-goal attempts and all 39 of his extra points. He kicked a season-high three field goals earlier this season against South Alabama, including his long of the year, a 53-yarder.

Oklahoma State at West Virginia, noon, 6ABC: Look for a lot of offense in this one with quarterbacks Mason Rudolph (2,650 passing yards, tops in FBS) of the Cowboys and Will Grier (26 touchdown passes, tops in FBS) of the Mountaineers. The loser will find its hopes of a Big 12 championship-game berth in jeopardy.

Georgia vs. Florida at Jacksonville, Fla., 3:30 p.m., CBS3: The Bulldogs figure to wear down the Gators with a strong rushing attack that averages nearly 283 yards. Freshman D'Andre Swift (St. Joseph's Prep) has run for 358 yards and averages 8.5 yards per carry. Florida has won 21 of the last 27 meetings.

Texas Christian at Iowa State, 3:30 p.m., 6ABC: Things will be rocking in Ames as the Cyclones, ranked for the first time since 2005, host the Big 12's only undefeated team. The Horned Frogs have the conference's best defense, a unit that held Kansas to 21 total yards last week in a shutout win.

North Carolina State at Notre Dame, 3:30 p.m., NBC10: The Fighting Irish seek to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive behind a prolific rushing attack led by Josh Adams (Central Bucks South), who has gained 967 yards on the ground. The Wolfpack, however, allow just 91.3 rushing yards per game.

QB Lamar Jackson, Louisville, 6-3, 211, Jr., Pompano Beach, Fla.

Few people seem to be paying attention to Jackson, the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner, mainly because the Cardinals are 2-3 in the ACC and are allowing more than 38 points a game on defense. But Jackson doesn't play defense, and the numbers he has put up on offense have been impressive once again. He leads the nation in total offense, averaging 418.3 yards per game, and is the only FBS player to rank in the top 10 in yardage for both passing (2,478 yards, sixth) and rushing (868 yards, 10th). He has thrown 17 touchdown passes and has rushed for 11 TDs.