The race is on. It’s too early to tell who will earn this coveted spot. It is the major storyline of the remaining few weeks in the regular season.

This isn’t about the fourth slot in the College Football Playoff, which is still wide open. It is for No. 1, to be decided between LSU and Ohio State.

Who finishes atop the committee’s rankings has never mattered more. The winner receives a soft landing in the semifinals. The loser will almost certainly draw defending national champion Clemson.

The difference is massive.

At this point, there are a number of possibilities for the team that could be No. 4. Georgia is the front-runner, provided it can knock off LSU, an unlikely scenario. Then there is Alabama sans dynamic quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Utah, Oklahoma and maybe even a second Big Ten team (more on that later). It’s like the old saying about quarterbacks, if you think you have two, you have none. There is a reason there isn’t a clear choice for the last spot. None belongs in the same conversation as the big three.

All those teams have significant deficiencies and hardly compare to the talent, championship pedigree and difficulty Clemson would present. Georgia has lost at home to four-loss South Carolina and was nearly upset by mediocre Texas A&M on Saturday. Utah has a loss to pedestrian USC and hasn’t defeated a ranked opponent. Alabama’s defense is shaky and quarterback Mac Jones is an unknown. Oklahoma nearly blew big leads to Iowa State and TCU in recent weeks, along with a setback to four-loss Kansas State.

Which is why it’s so important to see what happens with LSU and Ohio State. Both can afford a loss and still reach the playoff. Their résumés are that strong. But a defeat would also knock them out of the race for No. 1.

At the moment. LSU has the edge, courtesy of wins over Alabama (with Taglovailoa), Florida and Auburn. But Ohio State still has two big games left, Saturday at hard-charging Michigan followed by the Big Ten title game, against either Minnesota or Wisconsin, and owns wins over Penn State, Wisconsin and 10-1 Cincinnati. Two blowouts to close the year could elevate the Buckeyes.

It is so important, the difference between a likely blowout and facing an equal in Clemson. Who’s No. 1 has never mattered so much for the teams jockeying for top position in the playoff.

Michigan is an upset away from giving the playoff committee a lot to think about. A two-loss team has never reached the final four, but the Wolverines would have a case. While upsetting Ohio State would be a stunner, and may not be likely, the Wolverines are getting better by the week, will be at home, are coming off four straight blowouts of Notre Dame, Maryland, Michigan State and Indiana and their 10th-ranked scoring defense could give Ohio State problems.

They would have wins over the second-ranked Buckeyes, No. 16 Notre Dame and No. 17 Iowa, based on the playoff committee’s poll. Their losses have both come on the road, to No. 8 Penn State and No. 12 Wisconsin. That’s a résumé nobody battling for the fourth spot can match aside from Georgia, again provided it knocks off LSU in the SEC title game.

Few experts predicted Baylor would return to elite status faster than Texas, but that’s the case after the Bears overwhelmed the Longhorns, 24-10 on Saturday, clinching a spot in the Big 12 title game.

Texas is as close to the Big 12 basement as the penthouse. It has lost three of four games, two to in-state rivals TCU and the Bears. Tom Herman’s third season, with a 6-5 record, isn’t too different from Charlie Strong’s 5-7 mess in his third year that led to his ouster.

Herman better not lose Saturday to two-win Texas Tech. His high-level recruiting classes will keep him safe only so long.

1. LSU (11-0) (Last week: 1)

LSU clinched its first SEC West title in eight years on Saturday. All that can keep the Tigers out of the playoff now is two losses in their last two games.

2. Ohio State (11-0) (2)

The Buckeyes responded to some rare game pressure like champions, after watching a 21-point lead cut to four late in the third quarter. They held Penn State to 49 yards the rest of the way, quickly erasing any upset thoughts.

3. Clemson (11-0) (3)

This will be an adjustment for Clemson. Facing a team that can actually challenge it. Ignore South Carolina’s 4-7 record; it upset Georgia and pushed Florida.

4. Georgia (10-1) (4)

Georgia keeps winning in unimpressive fashion, three of its last four victories by seven points or less. But unlike the other teams jockeying for the fourth spot in the playoff, the Bulldogs’ path is simple: Beat LSU in the SEC title game.

5. Alabama (10-1) (6)

The good news: Tua Tagovailoa replacement, Mac Jones, has completed 71.4 percent of his passes for 841 yards and seven touchdowns. The bad news: It’s hard to take much from those numbers mostly coming against Western Carolina and Arkansas.

6. Oklahoma (10-1) (7)

The Sooners aren’t just playing with fire, they’re taunting it, dancing dangerously close to the flames. Two of the last three weeks, they have nearly blown big leads, only to narrowly hang on. The playoff committee won’t be impressed.

7. Utah (10-1) (8)

Sure, the Utes don’t have a single win over a ranked opponent. Their non-conference schedule was weak. But performance matters and they are surging at the right time, with a margin of victory of 34.2 in their current seven-game winning streak.

8. Florida (9-2) (10)

Miami is 6-5 and has lost four times as a double-digit favorite. Florida State, mired in mediocrity, is looking for a new coach. It’s good to be a Gators fan these days.

9. Minnesota (10-1) (NR)

Minnesota’s goals — a Big Ten crown and the playoff — remain in play. But they can’t happen without a win over Wisconsin.

10. Michigan (9-2) (NR)

Ohio State won’t coast Saturday in Ann Arbor. Michigan, averaging 39.3 points over its last six games, will put a scare into the Buckeyes.

Dropped out: Penn State (9-2) and Oregon (9-2)

QB Joe Burrow, LSU

It’s hard to believe quarterback Billy Cannon way back in 1959 is the lone LSU Heisman Trophy winner when you consider the kind of player the SEC school attracts. Burrow looks like the next one, continuing his dream season with three touchdown passes in a rout of Arkansas on Saturday.

QB Justin Fields, Ohio State

His performance against Penn State wasn’t poor — Fields threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 68 more yards — but it wasn’t the brilliance needed to gain ground on Burrow. His two lost fumbles certainly didn’t help.

QB Jalen Hurts, Oklahoma

Turnovers are becoming a problem for Hurts, two more in Saturday’s ugly win over TCU. They won’t keep him from New York City next month, but they are lessening his already slim chances.

DE Chase Young, Ohio State

In the Buckeyes’ two biggest games, Young has been an absolute monster, combining for 15 tackles, seven sacks, four forced fumbles and nine tackles for loss in wins over Wisconsin and Penn State.

RB Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin

Three straight 200-yard rushing performances have the junior back in the mix. He can really make a statement by leading Wisconsin past Minnesota on Saturday for the Big Ten West crown.