5 Most Dangerous 2017 College Football Playoff Contenders

We are still waiting to see who will win the College Football Playoff in 2016, but it’s never too early to look at the crop of contenders in 2017.

If we have learned anything from the past few years of the College Football Playoff era, it is that we know very little. The argument for the “four best teams” will always leave room for a wide latitude of subjectivity. 2016 provides a new data point as we try to determine what constitutes precedent under the new system.

Any team that makes the final cut, though, is almost certainly going to be ranked in the preseason top 25 of the AP and coaches polls. The lowest-ranked team in the preseason to make the semifinals was last year’s Oklahoma Sooners, who started the year 19th in the both polls. Clemson was also 12th in both lists. This year Washington started the year 14th in the AP poll and 18th in the coaches poll. That means nine of the 12 teams selected so far over the first three years of the College Football Playoff were ranked in the top five in at least one of the two polls.

So really any exercise in trying to figure out the most dangerous teams in the hunt for the 2017-2018 College Football Playoff will also come down to who we think will be highly rated in the preseason top 25 selections. Click through to see our selection for the teams that will almost certainly be in the hunt for a playoff berth next season.

NOTE: All rankings listed are from the final College Football Playoff rankings released Dec. 4. Experience, when discussed, is based on Phil Steele’s 2016 Experience Chart. Recruiting rankings are from 247 Sports’ composite rankings.