The College Football Playoff selection committee released its second set of rankings, and the top five teams remain unchanged. Ohio State holds the No. 1 position, followed by the unbeaten teams Indiana and Texas A&M, with one-loss teams Alabama and Georgia rounding out the top five.
The complete list of the top twelve teams includes Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Oregon, Notre Dame, Texas, Oklahoma, and BYU. With five conference champions guaranteed a spot in the 12-team bracket, South Florida, ranked No. 24, would take the place of BYU as the 12th seed, and Miami, projected as the ACC champion, would replace Oklahoma.
If the current rankings were applied to the 12-team playoff, the top four teams—Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, and Alabama—would receive first-round byes. The first-round matchups would feature South Florida visiting Georgia, Miami facing Texas Tech, Texas against Ole Miss, and Notre Dame competing with Oregon.
The SEC has six teams in the top twelve, followed by the Big Ten with three and the Big 12 with two. The ACC boasts five teams in the top 25, but none are ranked higher than 15th. Notably, South Florida stands as the only representative from a Group of Five conference in the top 25.
Despite a challenging game against struggling Penn State, Indiana managed to maintain its unbeaten status, thanks to a last-minute 7-yard touchdown pass from Fernando Mendoza to Omar Cooper Jr. The Nittany Lions, who have now lost six consecutive games, dismissed head coach James Franklin on October 12.
Texas A&M held on to its position behind Indiana after securing a victory over another ranked opponent, defeating Missouri 38-17 on the road. Earlier in the season, the Aggies also triumphed against Notre Dame with a close score of 41-40.
Texas Tech climbed two spots in the rankings, overtaking Ole Miss due to a strong defensive effort in a recent 29-7 win against BYU. Following their first loss of the season, the Cougars dropped five positions.
In the rankings, Utah sits at 13th, followed by Vanderbilt, Miami, Georgia Tech, USC, Michigan, Virginia, and Louisville. Both Virginia and Louisville fell five spots after losses last week. Despite having two conference losses, Miami is the highest-ranked team from the ACC.
Five teams—Georgia Tech, Virginia, Pittsburgh, SMU, and Duke—each have only one loss in ACC play, which complicates Miami”s path to the ACC championship game.
The rankings conclude with Iowa, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, South Florida, and Cincinnati making up the top 25. This week marks the first time South Florida and Cincinnati have entered the rankings, while Missouri and Washington have dropped out after defeats.
The first-round playoff games are scheduled to take place at the home campuses of the higher-seeded teams on December 19 and 20. Quarterfinal matchups will occur at the Cotton Bowl Classic, Capital One Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential, and Allstate Sugar Bowl on December 31 and January 1. The semifinal games are set for the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on January 8 and 9, with the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T slated for January 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
