The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season come out tonight, which will take some heat off the much-maligned AP Top 25 and put the committee back in the limelight.
After the No. 1 team, which will almost assuredly be Miami, there is a lot of room for interpretation throughout the rest of the top 25. Utah and UCLA are also undefeated, but neither the AP or Coaches Poll regard them on the same level as the Hurricanes.
Head-to-head results were also a point of contention last season as Notre Dame debuted ahead of Miami despite the Hurricanes’ win over the Fighting Irish earlier in the year. How will the committee take those results into account this time around?
It will also be interesting to see where the top Group of 6 teams slot in. Boise State has been ranked in the AP Poll for weeks. And New Mexico just made its program debut. Will the Broncos and Lobos get that same respect from the committee? On that note, how will three-loss teams be treated? Only two three-loss teams have appeared in the initial rankings in the last two seasons. Will South Carolina, Florida or Oregon make the cut?
Per the CFP committee, this is the information it takes into account during the process: “The selection committee ranks the teams based on the members’ evaluation of the teams’ performance on the field, using conference championships won, strength of schedule, head-to-head results, and comparison of results against common opponents to decide among teams that are comparable.”
Do what you will with that information. Fans are certain to quibble with the order, but there are four more weeks of regular-season action, plus conference championships, for teams to strengthen their cases. The first of six sets of rankings will be revealed tonight (7 ET on ESPN) before the 12-team field is locked in on Sunday, Dec. 3.
Given what the committee has said it values and the results on the field through nine weeks, Athlon Sports predicted the first College Football Playoff rankings.
College Football Playoff Rankings Predictions (Nov. 3)
No. 1 Miami
Record: 8-0
AP Ranking: 1
Best Win: at Wake Forest (33-20)
Worst Loss: N/A
Remaining Schedule: at No. 4 Notre Dame, vs. Duke, vs. Virginia Tech, vs. Boston College
No. 2 Georgia
Record: 7-1
AP Ranking: 2
Best Win: at Alabama (20-17)
Worst Loss: vs. Auburn (27-24)
Remaining Schedule: at No. 12 Ole Miss, vs. No. 19 Missouri, at No. 23 South Carolina, vs. Georgia Tech
No. 3 Utah
Record: 8-0
AP Ranking: 3
Best Win: vs. Houston (21-13)
Worst Loss: N/A
Remaining Schedule: vs. No. 7 BYU, at No. 24 Arizona, at TCU, vs. West Virginia
No. 4 UCLA
Record: 8-0
AP Ranking: 5
Best Win: at Oregon (17-15)
Worst Loss: N/A
Remaining Schedule: at Minnesota, vs. Illinois, at Michigan, vs. No. 18 USC
No. 5 Indiana
Record: 8-1
AP Ranking: 6
Best Win: vs. Northwestern (29-23)
Worst Loss: vs. Ohio State (19-15)
Remaining Schedule: vs. No. 18 USC, at Washington, vs. Purdue
No. 6 BYU
Record: 7-1
AP Ranking: 7
Best Win: vs. Notre Dame (28-24)
Worst Loss: at UCF (39-31 2OT)
Remaining Schedule: at No. 3 Utah, vs. Baylor, at Kansas, vs. Cincinnati
No. 7 Notre Dame
Record: 7-1
AP Ranking: 4
Best Win: vs. Wisconsin (41-13)*
Worst Loss: at BYU (28-24)
Remaining Schedule: vs. No. 1 Miami, vs. Boston College, vs. SMU, at Syracuse
No. 8 Kentucky
Record: 7-1
AP Ranking: 8
Best Win: vs. LSU (35-34 OT)
Worst Loss: vs. Alabama (45-17)
Remaining Schedule: at No. 16 Tennessee, vs. No. 25 Florida, at No. 19 Missouri, vs. Louisville
No. 9 Alabama
Record: 6-2
AP Ranking: 9
Best Win: at Kentucky (45-17)
Worst Loss: at Tennessee (26-10)
Remaining Schedule: at No. 15 LSU, at Vanderbilt, vs. Chattanooga, vs. Auburn
No. 10 Texas
Record: 6-2
AP Ranking: 10
Best Win: vs. Ohio State (24-23)
Worst Loss: vs. Oklahoma (27-24)
Remaining Schedule: at No. 19 Missouri, at No. 15 LSU, vs. Arkansas, at Texas A&M
No. 11 Ohio State
Record: 6-2
AP Ranking: 11
Best Win: at Indiana (19-15)
Worst Loss: at USC (30-18)
Remaining Schedule: vs. Oregon, vs. Northwestern, at Nebraska, vs. Michigan
No. 12 Ole Miss
Record: 6-2
AP Ranking: 12
Best Win: vs. LSU (32-24)
Worst Loss: at Florida (52-28)
Remaining Schedule: vs. No. 2 Georgia, at Oklahoma, vs. Wofford, vs. Mississippi State
No. 13 Texas Tech
Record: 7-1
AP Ranking: 13
Best Win: vs. Houston (28-26)
Worst Loss: vs. Cincinnati (37-24)
Remaining Schedule: vs. West Virginia, at Oklahoma State, at Baylor, vs. TCU
No. 14 Wake Forest
Record: 7-1
AP Ranking: 14
Best Win: at Louisville (30-27)
Worst Loss: vs. Miami (33-20)
Remaining Schedule: vs. Merrimack, at SMU, at Georgia Tech, vs. Duke
No. 15 LSU
Record: 6-2
AP Ranking: 15
Best Win: at Auburn (38-17)
Worst Loss: at Kentucky (35-35 OT)
Remaining Schedule: vs. No. 9 Alabama, vs. No. 10 Texas, at No. 16 Tennessee, at Arkansas
No. 16 Tennessee
Record: 6-2
AP Ranking: 16
Best Win: vs. Alabama (26-10)
Worst Loss: vs. South Carolina (27-24)
Remaining Schedule: vs. No. 8 Kentucky, at Texas A&M, vs. No. 15 LSU, at Vanderbilt
No. 17 Houston
Record: 6-2
AP Ranking: 17
Best Win: Oklahoma State (35-32)
Worst Loss: at Texas Tech (28-26)
Remaining Schedule: vs. Cincinnati, at Colorado, at West Virginia, vs. Baylor
No. 18 USC
Record: 7-2
AP Ranking: 18
Best Win: vs. Ohio State (30-18)
Worst Loss: Wisconsin (24-7)
Remaining Schedule: at No. 6 Indiana, vs. Maryland, at No. 5 UCLA
No. 19 Missouri
Record: 6-2
AP Ranking: 19
Best Win: vs. Florida (45-17)
Worst Loss: at Mississippi State (31-24)
Remaining Schedule: vs. No. 10 Texas, at No. 2 Georgia, vs. No. 8 Kentucky, vs. Oklahoma
No. 20 Boise State
Record: 7-1
AP Ranking: 20
Best Win: vs. Memphis (38-20)
Worst Loss: at Oregon (34-24)
Remaining Schedule: at Colorado State, vs. Oregon State, vs. San Diego State
No. 21 Iowa
Record: 6-2
AP Ranking: 21
Best Win: vs. Wisconsin (30-0)
Worst Loss: at Minnesota (13-10)
Remaining Schedule: at Northwestern, vs. Purdue, at Illinois, vs. Nebraska
No. 22 Arizona
Record: 6-2
AP Ranking: 24
Best Win: vs. Cincinnati (34-7)
Worst Loss: at Texas Tech (34-26)
Remaining Schedule: vs. TCU, vs. No. 3 Utah, at Kansas State, vs. Arizona State
No. 23 Northwestern
Record: 6-2
AP Ranking: Unranked
Best Win: vs. Penn State (34-13)
Worst Loss: at Oregon (34-26)
Remaining Schedule: vs. No. 21 Iowa, at No. 11 Ohio State, at Minnesota, vs. Illinois
No. 24 New Mexico
Record: 7-1
AP Ranking: 22
Best Win: vs. North Dakota State (21-16)
Worst Loss: at Oklahoma (14-6)
Remaining Schedule: at Nevada, vs. UNLV, at Wyoming, vs. Air Force
No. 25 South Carolina
Record: 5-3
AP Ranking: 23
Best Win: vs. Tennessee (27-24)
Worst Loss: vs. Mississippi State (41-34)
Remaining Schedule: vs. Texas A&M, at Arkansas, vs. No. 2 Georgia, at Clemson
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This story was originally published by Athlon on Nov 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add Athlon as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Source: Yahoo Sports
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