One last time, before the rankings that truly matter are released …
The College Football Playoff Selection Committee just unveiled its penultimate set of rankings for the 2025-2026 College Football Playoff, just days before conference championship games begin. Heading into Tuesday, the Committee had several questions they needed to answer. How far would Texas A&M fall after losing to Texas? How far would Texas rise after knocking off the No. 3 team in these rankings from a week ago? What impact, if any, would Lane Kiffin’s departure from Oxford have on Ole Miss? How would the Committee view Miami? Where would they stand on a five-loss Duke team that advanced to the ACC Championship Game? Was the door open for a second Group of 5 team to make the bracket?
We now have answers to those questions, and more.
Here are the latest rankings from the College Football Playoff Committee, followed by the hypothetical bracket, and some takeaways.
1. Ohio State (12-0)
2. Indiana (12-0)
3. Georgia (11-1)
4. Texas Tech (11-1)
5. Oregon (11-1)
6. Ole Miss (11-1)
7. Texas A&M (11-1)
8. Oklahoma (10-2)
9. Alabama (10-2)
10. Notre Dame (10-2)
11. BYU (11-1)
12. Miami (10-2)
13. Texas (9-3)
14. Vanderbilt (10-2)
15. Utah (10-2)
16. USC (9-3)
17. Virginia (10-2)
18. Arizona (9-3)
19. Michigan (9-3)
20. Tulane (10-2)
21. Houston (9-3)
22. Georgia Tech (9-3)
23. Iowa (8-4)
24. North Texas (11-1)
25. James Madison (11-1)
Here is the hypothetical College Football Playoff bracket, given these rankings:
You will note that the No. 11 and No. 12 teams are now listed as “Conference Champion #4” and “Conference Champion #5,” respectively.
This is largely based on the chaos that is unfolding in the ACC, where No. 17 Virginia (10-2) is playing Duke (7-5). If Virginia wins (and they are favored in that game), then in all likelihood the Cavaliers will take the No. 11 spot, and No. 12 will go to the highest ranked conference champion from the Group of 5.
At the moment, that is No. 20 Tulane.
However, if Duke pulls off the upset, then perhaps the AAC Champion slides into the No. 11 spot, and another Group of 5 team slides into the No. 12 spot.
Here are some other quick thoughts from the rankings:
