NEW YORK — Meet your College Football Playoff if the postseason started today:

No.1 Clemson would play No. 4 Alabama in the Orange Bowl and No. 2 Louisiana State would face No. 3 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.

Tuesday’s first playoff ranking release was only the first taste of sugar. The selection committee had to start somewhere, and a top four of Clemson, LSU, Ohio State and Alabama shouldn’t surprise anyone.

The big surprise was Notre Dame at No. 5. The Irish rank four spots higher than they do in this week’s USA Today coaches’ poll. There is nothing like a four-point win over Temple to impress the judges.

Alabama and LSU play Saturday in Tuscaloosa. Baylor did not make the top four despite being No. 2 in both the coaches and Associated Press media polls. The Bears debut at No. 6, paying the price for a weak schedule.

The committee’s top 10 is rounded out by Michigan State at No. 7, followed by Texas Christian, Iowa and Florida.

Baylor and TCU, both of the Big 12 Conference, got left out of last season’s playoffs and are facing that possibility again.

“We rank to this point in time,” Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long, chairman of the selection committee, said on ESPN just after the announcement.

Stanford is the first Pac-12 Conference team in the mix, at No. 11, followed by Utah at No. 12. UCLA is No. 23, sandwiched between Temple and Toledo.

The committee had a lot to hash out.

Last year’s first ranking had only two undefeated teams to consider, Mississippi State and Florida State. This year there are 11, many with flaws and suspect schedules.

Think of Ohio State (8-0) as this year’s Florida State, an unbeaten defending national champion with quarterback issues that can’t truly be trusted.

The committee suspected Florida State wasn’t for real but couldn’t justify dumping a crowned champion riding the nation’s longest winning streak. It might be harboring similar thoughts for Ohio State.

Baylor (7-0) is averaging 61 points a game but has one of the weakest schedules in major college football.

LSU (7-0) appears formidable but has had one game canceled and another moved to the Tigers’ home stadium because of bad weather.

Iowa (8-0) is undefeated but may be getting dinged because it plays in the weak Big Ten West Division, even though the Hawkeyes have wins at Wisconsin and Northwestern.

TCU (8-0) has won 16 straight and boasts the nation’s best quarterback in Trevone Boykin, but lacks a signature win.

Clemson (8-0) looks like the real deal but plays in a conference, the Atlantic Coast, that has only one other team in the AP top 20.

This is the first of six sets of rankings the selection committee will release, with the final one to be revealed at noon Dec. 6 on ESPN. The top four teams qualify for the two semifinal games, which will be held at the Orange and Cotton bowls on Dec. 31. The winners will meet in the national championship game on Monday, Jan. 11, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

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