The 2023 college football season has provided fans with loads of entertainment so far, and there are numerous teams still in contention to win this year's national championship. On Tuesday, the first College Football Playoff rankings were released by the committee, and that provided some clarity on where each team stands. At this point in the season, there are four conferences that can still have an undefeated champion: the Big Ten (Ohio State, Michigan), the Pac-12 (Washington football), the SEC (Georgia) and the ACC (Florida State). The Big 12 appears to between Texas and Oklahoma, and both of those teams have a loss. Those undefeated squads are the five teams that makeup the top five of the initial rankings: #1 Ohio State, #2 Georgia, #3 Michigan, #4 Florida State and #5 Washington.

It was a bit of a surprise to see the committee rank Ohio State at #1. The Buckeyes have obviously been good this season, and they have two of the best wins in the country as they have defeated Penn State and Notre Dame who are ranked #11 and #14 in the initial rankings. However, Georgia and Michigan have been ranked #1 and #2 all season long in the AP Poll, and while that doesn't have any affect on the CFP rankings, many thought that that order would remain the same, especially because of the fact that the Bulldogs have won back-to-back national titles. The committee values what has happened this year, however, and while Ohio State might not pass the eye test with flying colors, it's hard to argue with their resume.

Should Washington football be ranked higher?

After seeing the Buckeyes shoot up to that #1 spot, it makes you wonder why a team like Washington wasn't rewarded more for their resume and their impressive win over Oregon, which could be the best win that anybody has. The Huskies came in at #5, but a lot of people would argue that they should be ranked higher. For the first time in a very long time, the Pac-12 actually looks like one of the better conferences in college football, but the #5 ranking for the Huskies shows that committee isn't quite giving them the respect they deserve. Out of all of the remaining potential undefeated conference winners, Washington has the lowest ranking of them all.

It's going to be interesting to see how the rankings change in the coming weeks. While Washington does already have a strong resume, they have the potential to make it much stronger in the final stretch of the season. The Huskies play at #20 USC this weekend, and then they are home against #18 Utah before the hitting the road to play #16 Oregon State. To finish the season, they will be at home against Washington State. That's three games in a row against ranked teams for Washington. If they can find a way to survive this gauntlet and win out, it will be interesting to see if the committee jumps the Huskies over a team or two. It's going to be hard to ignore that resume.

At the end of the day, the Huskies have a terrific resume, but the bulk of their Pac-12 schedule hasn't happened yet. If they can continue to win, the rest will take care of itself, and Washington football will find themselves in the College Football Playoff. Before Oklahoma lost last week, there was still the potential for five undefeated power five champions, which would put the CFP committee into quite the predicament as only four of them could be picked to make the playoff. That is not going to be the case, and because of that, Washington officially controls their own destiny. They will also have a sure chance to move up when either Michigan or Ohio State loses in the final week of the season as they play against each other.

To conclude, Washington football should be ranked higher, but the opportunities for them to rise will be there in the coming weeks.