Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, November 3, 2015

The inaugural 2015 College Football Playoff rankings will be announced at 7 p.m. ET tonight.

[ MORE: See Tom Dienhart's top 4 teams | Where should Iowa be ranked? ]

This is the second season of the playoff era, and we should all be thankful that it has replaced the forgettable BCS.

Big Ten fans need no reminder what happened in the first year of the new system. For those with a short memory, Ohio State won the national title, after downing No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and No. 2 Oregon in the national title game.

Before the first rankings come out tonight, here are some 2014 Big Ten-centric CFP rankings facts:

  • Eventual national champion Ohio State debuted at No. 16.
  • Five Big Ten teams (Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Wisconsin) appeared in at least one of the seven rankings.
  • Four Big Ten teams (Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Wisconsin) were as high as No. 13
  • Two Big Ten teams (Michigan State, Ohio State) appeared in all seven of the rankings.
  • Michigan State was No. 8 in four of the seven rankings.
  • Ohio State moved up in all but one of last season's seven rankings (No. 16; No. 14; No. 8; No. 6; No. 6; No. 5; No. 4)
  • Nebraska was No. 13, before losing two of its final three games and finishing unranked.
  • Ohio State was the highest-ranked Big Ten team for each of the last five rankings.
  • No Big Ten team was in the top 4 until the final week, when Ohio State debuted at No. 4.

Don't forget, the final rankings will be released at noon ET Sunday, Dec. 6.