NCAAF

Alabama, two Big Ten teams in initial Playoff Projection

Daniel Uthman

USA TODAY Sports

If the College Football Playoff semifinals were set this week, they would match the sport's two most-watched coaches and two Heisman-contending quarterbacks, according to the initial vote of the Football Four Playoff Projection panel. They also would draw half of their teams from one conference, the Big Ten.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts and Alabama are at the top of the Playoff heap after three weeks, according to the Football Four Projection panel.

USA TODAY's 13-person panel voted Alabama the No. 1 seed, Ohio State the No. 2 seed, Louisville the No. 3 seed and Michigan the No. 4 seed in its first projection of 2016. An Alabama-Michigan matchup would feature Nick Saban and Jim Harbaugh on opposing sidelines. An Ohio State-Louisville matchup would feature J.T. Barrett and early Heisman trophy favorite Lamar Jackson, the driver of what Playoff Projection panelist Jim Ross calls “a living, breathing video game.”

The full voting breakdown:

The Playoff Projection panel is based on the College Football Playoff selection committee's model and includes the WWE Hall of Fame announcer Ross, former FBS coaches Frank Beamer, Tommy Bowden and Rich Brooks, former FBS athletic directors Mike Alden, Bill Byrne and Jim Livengood, and USA TODAY Sports college sports staff members Nicole Auerbach, Paul Myerberg, George Schroeder, Eddie Timanus, Daniel Uthman and Dan Wolken. Beamer and Alden joined the panel after retiring last year.

The Playoff Projection is in its fourth year. Each panelist enters a four-team ballot, with four points awarded for a No. 1 vote, three for a No. 2, two for a No. 3 and one for a No. 4. The projection is purely a mock selection with no bearing on the Playoff selection committee's decisions.

Michigan appeared on fewer ballots than fifth-place finisher Clemson or sixth-place finisher Stanford but earned more points based on its voting placement. Houston was the other team to receive votes. Every team appeared on at least two panelists' ballots.

“There should be consensus about the top three: Ohio State, Alabama and Louisville, in one order or another,” Myerberg said. “There’s due to be some disagreement about No. 4, however, especially with a logjam of Power Five teams holding impressive wins heading into the start of conference play across the FBS.”