College Football Playoff rankings takeaways: Colorado's path, Indiana undervalued

The Oregon Ducks remained No. 1 in the second set of College Football Playoff rankings, which were released on Tuesday night.

The Ducks, who currently sit at 10-0 overall and 7-0 in Big Ten play, were followed by Ohio State at No. 2 and Texas at No. 3.Penn State and Indiana round out the top five teams.

Oregon (Big Ten), Texas (SEC), BYU (Big 12) and Miami (ACC) would receive first-round byes in the 12-team playoff, while Ohio State (Big Ten), Penn State (Big Ten), Indiana (Big Ten) and Tennessee (SEC) would host games in the opening round.

With that, here is a look at my top takeaways from the second set of CFP rankings:

[ College Football Playoff rankings: Oregon, Ohio State on top; Alabama enters top 10 ]

1. No. 17-ranked Colorado has a path to the CFP … and the national title.

The road for the Buffs to the national championship game is clean, and that's saying quite a bit in a landscape shrouded in uncertainty for other teams who could cap their season with "just" 10 wins. But the format and criteria are clear: The four highest-ranked conference champions will not only earn selection to the playoff, but will be granted a first-round bye, and the Big 12 is one of those four Power 4 leagues the 12-team CFP was designed to accommodate.

For Deion Sanders' Colorado team, the math is simple: Win against Utah on Saturday, and every game you play afterward, and it will culminate in a magical year for the Buffaloes. And all this is thanks to athletic director Rick George hiring Coach Prime and then following that bit of business with a shrewd move to join the Big 12 as the Pac-12 dissolved in front of him.

With Prime already mentioned as a favorite for a job that isn't even open yet — the Dallas Cowboys — nothing should