Mark Schlabach
Nov. 11, 2025, 07:15 PM ET
The College Football Playoff selection committee released its second set of rankings Tuesday, leaving the top five unchanged. Ohio State remained No. 1, followed by Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama and Georgia.
The rest of the top 12 were Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Oregon, Notre Dame, Texas, Oklahoma and BYU. Because five conference champions are guaranteed spots in the 12-team bracket, No. 24 South Florida (the highest-ranked Group of 5 champion) would replace BYU as the 12th seed, and Miami (projected ACC champion) would replace Oklahoma.
If these rankings stood for the bracket, the Buckeyes, Hoosiers, Aggies and Crimson Tide would receive first-round byes as the top four seeds. First-round matchups would be: South Florida at Georgia, Miami at Texas Tech, Texas at Ole Miss and Notre Dame at Oregon. The top 12 included six SEC teams, three Big Ten teams and two from the Big 12; the ACC had five teams in the top 25 but none higher than No. 15. South Florida was the only Group of 5 school in the top 25.
The committee did not penalize unbeaten Indiana after its comeback 27-24 win at Penn State, sealed by Fernando Mendoza’s 7-yard touchdown pass to Omar Cooper Jr. with 36 seconds left. Penn State has lost six straight and fired coach James Franklin on Oct. 12.
“We gave Indiana the edge defensively, and certainly, offensively, as well,” CFP committee chair Mack Rhoades said on ESPN’s rankings show, explaining why Indiana was placed ahead of Texas A&M. “You think about Indiana’s body of work. … Indiana found a way to find a way.”
Unbeaten Texas A&M remained behind Indiana despite a 38-17 road win at Missouri; the Aggies also beat Notre Dame 41-40 earlier this season. Texas Tech moved up two spots, overtaking Ole Miss after a dominant defensive showing in a 29-7 win over BYU. BYU fell five spots after its first loss of the season.
“What a convincing win against BYU, both sides of the ball,” Rhoades said of Texas Tech. He noted the Red Raiders have left points off the board in the red zone and relied on field goals at times, but called them “a really good football team.”
The committee slotted Utah at 13, followed by Vanderbilt, Miami, Georgia Tech, USC, Michigan, Virginia and Louisville. Virginia and Louisville dropped five spots after losses. Miami was the highest-ranked ACC team despite two conference losses; several ACC teams — Georgia Tech, Virginia, Pittsburgh, SMU and Duke — each have only one loss in conference play, so Miami would need help to reach the ACC title game.
“With Miami, we had some teams lose, and again, the conversation with Miami has been about their consistency, especially on offense,” Rhoades said. “They’ve been really, really good on defense. Obviously, the head-to-head [win] with Notre Dame comes up. … All of those things play into it. We’ve got great respect for Miami.”
Iowa, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, South Florida and Cincinnati rounded out the top 25. South Florida and Cincinnati were ranked for the first time, while Missouri and Washington fell out after last week’s losses. In Week 2’s rankings the SEC had eight teams, the Big Ten six, the ACC five and the Big 12 four. South Florida represented the American Athletic Conference, and Notre Dame remained independent.
“We don’t look at conferences,” Rhoades said. “We look at each of the teams. And I think for the ACC, when you look at their nonconference schedule, there really are no signature wins other than Miami vs. Notre Dame. And so when we’re having that conversation, we do look. We look at schedule strength, record strength. That’s certainly one of the metrics that come into play.”
The four first-round games would be played at the higher-seeded teams’ home campuses on Dec. 19 and 20. Quarterfinals are scheduled for the Cotton Bowl Classic, Capital One Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Allstate Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. Semifinals will be at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Jan. 8 and 9. The CFP National Championship presented by AT&T is set for Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
