Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, Georgia again top CFP rankings

Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, Georgia and Texas Tech remain the top five teams in the latest College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday, while Oregon moved ahead of Ole Miss after a win over USC.

The Ducks are now ranked No. 6, with Ole Miss at No. 7 – the only changes to the top 10 from a week ago. Oklahoma is ranked No. 8, followed by Notre Dame at No. 9, Alabama at No. 10 and BYU at No. 11.

“Their strength of schedule continues to grow,” CFP committee chairman Hunter Yurachek said of Oregon. “The committee was waiting for his signed victory.”

Miami moved up from Utah to No. 12, while the Utes dropped to No. 13 after falling 51-47 at 5-6 Kansas State. Despite the head-to-head win over the Irish, the Hurricanes are four places back in the latest rankings as they bid for an at-large berth. Vanderbilt remained at No. 14 while Michigan moved up three spots to No. 15.

Yurachek noted that Miami and Notre Dame were compared directly this week and rated in the same pod as Alabama and one-loss BYU.

“The committee still thinks Notre Dame is a complete team,” Yurachek said about putting the Irish at the top of that pod.

Texas is No. 16, USC is No. 17, Virginia is No. 18, Tennessee is No. 19 and Arizona State is No. 20.

SMU enters the rankings at No. 21, followed by Pitt, Georgia Tech, Tulane and Arizona.

As rivalry week begins, there could be major impacts on the rankings. All eyes will first be on the Egg Bowl when Ole Miss plays Mississippi State on Friday with a potential CFP berth at stake. Coach Lane Kiffin is expected to announce a decision regarding his future the next day.

If he chooses to leave Ole Miss, making him unavailable to coach the team in the CFP, the selection committee may take his departure into account when ranking rebounds.

Per CFP protocol, the committee may consider the loss of key players or coaches when ranking teams. In 2023, the committee ruled Florida State out of the four-team playoff partially because starting quarterback Jordan Travis was out for the season.

“It’s in the protocol, but I’m not sure we’ll have a data point to use it as part of the protocol,” Yurachek said during the ESPN broadcast, referring to Kiffin’s possible departure.

Asked to elaborate by ESPN’s Race Davis, Yurachek said the committee “wouldn’t have seen (Ole Miss) play without the coach.”

Other big rivalry games with potential CFP implications are: No. 3 Texas A&M travels to No. 16 Texas on Friday night. A victory for the Aggies clinches a berth in the SEC Championship Game. Alabama is at Auburn in the Iron Bowl, with an SEC Championship game appearance at stake.

No. 15 Michigan hosts No. 1 Ohio State as the Wolverines strive for a possible berth in the Big Ten title game or as an at-large team. Ohio State has lost four in a row to its rival, but a win Saturday will send the Buckeyes to the Big Ten title game.

Meanwhile in the ACC, No. 18 Virginia hosts rival Virginia Tech. The Cavaliers’ win sends them to the ACC Championship Game.

The five highest-ranked conference champions will make up the 12-team field, but there is a change in the format this year, as the committee is using a direct seeding model. The top four teams in the final rankings, regardless of conference championship, will receive a first-round bye.

If the playoffs were held today, these first-round matchups would be: Tulane at Texas Tech, Miami at Oregon, Alabama at Ole Miss and Notre Dame at Oklahoma. While Miami is ranked as the highest-ranked ACC team, the Hurricanes have long odds of winning the conference title (9% according to ESPN FPI).

SMU is the current ESPN FPI favorite to win the ACC at 55%. A win over Cal on Saturday takes the Mustangs to the ACC title game for the second consecutive season.

There are several scenarios for Miami to make it to the ACC title game, and they all involve a combination of a win at No. 22 Pitt and a loss to other ACC teams that are currently 6-1 in league play.

The SEC remains in the lead with eight ranked teams, while the Big Ten, ACC and Big 12 each have five. Tulane remains the only Group of 5 representative at No. 24.

The final CFP rankings will be announced on December 7, the day after the conference championships. The four first-round games will be played on December 19 and 20 at the home complexes of the higher-seeded teams. The four quarterfinal games will be played at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl (December 31), the Capital One Orange Bowl (January 1), the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential (January 1) and the Allstate Sugar Bowl (January 1).

The two semifinal games will take place at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on January 8 and 9, respectively.

The CFP National Championship Game is January 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.