The inaugural College Football Playoff does not entirely stick a fork in the NCAA rankings.

Now more than ever, the polls act as a guideline to get a pulse on the state of the college football landscape and a potential glimpse at the four lucky teams that will make it to the playoff.

Week 3 of the season itself is a bit of a downer in terms of high-profile matchups after a dynamite opening two weeks, but the playoff picture is as clear as day when one takes into consideration how the top teams look and what the rest of the schedule looks like.

Here is a look at the latest batch of polls and some predictions.

Associated Press and Amway Week 3 Top 25 Rankings

Let's take a look at the four surest bets to make the CFP before the week's action gets underway:

For a brief second, Florida State looked like it was perhaps in for a season full of struggle. In a 37-31 win over Oklahoma State to start the season, even last year's Heisman winner Jameis Winston looked a bit off the mark, going for 370 yards and a score, but with two interceptions.

Call it rust.

It'd be nice if the Seminoles defense had not allowed the Cowboys to convert on 50 percent of their third-down attempts, but Winston was back in form the very next week, misfiring on only five passes and throwing for 256 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a blowout over Citadel.

It's clear the Seminoles have reloaded well for a second title push, although not nearly as well as the squad Oregon touts this season.

Really, it had been easy to write off the Ducks. Lots of flash, but it had been easy to pigeonhole them as a team that would lose to elite competition late in the season.

Not anymore.

After a 62-13 ho-hum victory over South Dakota, Heisman contender Marcus Mariota and the Ducks welcomed an elite defensive team in then-No. 7 Michigan State to town.

As nobody would have been brave enough to suggest beforehand, Oregon abused the perennially stout unit for 491 total yards while Mariota threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns. ESPN CollegeFootball documents the historic carnage quite well:

The schedule lines up well for the Ducks, too. Dates against UCLA and Stanford, the lone remaining ranked opponents, are no longer as scary since both have already collected losses.

Alabama is a mainstay in this sort of conversation, like it or not. Those who want to see the dynasty fall seemed set to get their wish, as Nick Saban's Crimson Tide stumbled out of the gate with a 33-23 win over West Virginia.

There the quarterback controversy ended, as Blake Sims did well enough with 250 yards and a pick. Running back T.J. Yeldon was his usual elite self, going for 126 yards and a pair of scores. Despite this, it was his quarterback Saban was impressed with after the fact.

"But all in all for him to throw for 250 yards, he did a pretty good job of executing all in all and I'm happy with his progress," Saban told reporters.

Again, quarterback was really the only thing stopping the Crimson Tide from getting to the Playoff. Sims went out in Week 2 in a 41-0 rout of Florida Atlantic and threw for 228 yards and a pair of touchdowns before taking a seat.

With that glaring weakness out of the way, it is quite clear the machine will continue to roll. Dates with Ole Miss, Texas A&M, LSU and Auburn loom large in the future, but a one-loss SEC team likely won't miss out.

Rounding out the bunch is an Oklahoma team that has yet to be truly tested this season, but fans will recall the triumph for Bob Stoops' team over Saban's last year in the Sugar Bowl.

Through two games, the Sooners have outscored the opposition by a tally of 100-23. The run defense has been nothing short of elite, and quarterback Trevor Knight is still protected by a strong running game—this time the duo of Keith Ford and Alex Ross, who have already combined for seven rushing touchdowns this year.

As Grant Ramey of The Daily Times illustrates, Stoops is thrilled with his dual-threat quarterback:

The schedule is not so kind for the Sooners, though. Dates with Kansas State, Baylor, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State will stress the defense and put more pressure on Knight to win games with his arm.

At this juncture, though, it is hard to roll with anyone else but the Sooners when it comes to CFP predictions. Sure, Notre Dame and Georgia have been major surprises so far, as has Texas A&M (don't forget Auburn hanging around either), but right now the top four are the only logical choices until proven otherwise.

Stats via ESPN.com. Amyway poll via USA Today. AP poll via The Associated Press.