Dienhart: Here's my top 4 in initial College Football Playoff poll

The first College Football Playoff poll will be released on Tuesday, providing us with a framework for what is ahead. This is the first of six rankings, with the final one being revealed on Dec. 6.

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As a point of reference, the top four teams in the initial 2014 College Football Poll were No. 1 Mississippi State, No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Auburn and No. 4 Mississippi. Only one of those clubs ended up making the playoff, as FSU was the No. 3 seed.

Alabama earned the No. 1 seed but was just No. 6 in the first poll. Oregon earned the No. 2 seed and was No. 5 out of the gate. Ohio State was the No. 4 seed but was nestled at No. 16 in the first poll-and ended up winning the national championship.

How will the first CFP poll look? Here is my best guess. And, remember, this is based only on 2015 accomplishments to date:

No. 1 LSU
No. 2 Ohio State
No. 3 TCU
No. 4 Clemson

LSU has some nice wins, taking down No. 25 Mississippi State and No. 8 Florida. The Tigers play at No. 8 Alabama this Saturday, another chance to score an impressive win. LSU still has No. 19 Ole Miss, No. 25 Texas A&M and maybe the SEC title game left, in addition to the Bama game. If the Tigers win out, how can they not be No. 1 in the CFP poll?

The Buckeyes are No. 1 in the polls but haven?t played to their full capability this season. On top of that, OSU still hasn?t beaten a ranked team. Still, this club is a juggernaut. The Buckeyes will have to wait until the final two games to impress, as No. 6 Michigan State comes to Columbus. That is followed by a game at No. 16 Michigan and then maybe a Big Ten title game vs. ? Iowa? Win out, and Ohio State will be just fine–and maybe a No. 1 seed.

TCU has yet to beat a ranked foe, but it has shredded most every opponent, scoring 40 or more points in the last seven games. The Horned Frogs will finish with a bang, playing No. 12 Oklahoma State this Saturday, and also No. 14 Oklahoma and No. 2 Baylor in the finale. Win those, and TCU's resume will glisten. But will the lack of a Big 12 title game hurt, as it did last year?

Clemson has been impressive, with its best win coming vs. No. 6 Notre Dame, the lone loss of the season for the Fighting Irish. A huge game vs. No. 17 Florida State looms this weekend, but there is little juice left on the ACC schedule. So, the Tigers need to not just win out-but to do so impressively.

Keep an eye on Michigan State, which has slain No. 7 Oregon and No. 12 Michigan. A trip looms to No. 1 Ohio State as well as maybe the Big Ten title game. It would be hard to see an unbeaten Big Ten champion left out of the playoff, and that includes perfect Iowa, too.

Like TCU, Baylor has yet to topple a ranked team but continues to destroy opponents. Games remain vs. No. 14 Oklahoma, No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 5 TCU, in addition to the finale vs. Texas. The injury at QB hurts. Still, win out, and the Bears could be in good shape.

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