The inaugural College Football Playoff rankings were released tonight on ESPN. If you weren’t able to watch it because 1) it’s a boring show and 2) you don’t have access to it because YouTube TV and Disney can’t stop being high school divas and fighting each other, have no fear! Below is the entire ranking, and while it’s not as important as the D Poll, it’s still crucial to understand where each team stands with four weeks to go in the regular season.
My reaction to this ranking: it’s fine. The top 12 went about as I expected, though Notre Dame’s placement is particularly puzzling. The SEC ruled the day, as it had six teams in the top 12 but only one in the top three.
Surprisingly, the Big 12 was respected more than I thought. Sure, it only had three teams in the ranking — BYU, Texas Tech, and Utah — yet all three were in the top 13. That’s impressive for a league that’s constantly found itself disrespected.
Then there’s the ACC, which has to be in a pit of despair. The highest-ranked team from the league is Virginia at No. 14. That’s… not good. There’s a lot of football left to play, but the situation at the onset doesn’t appear promising.
If the season ended today, the Big Ten would only get three teams into the bracket. That’s the bad news. The good news is that there are several candidates further down the ranking — USC, Iowa, Michigan, and Washington — that could crash the party should things go in the right direction.
For the first time that I can remember, no team from the Group of 6 was included. If that were to continue all the way to the final week, the committee would continue to rank teams past No. 25 until it got to the top-ranked conference champion from the G6. In the case of this week’s inaugural ranking, Memphis is the team that would slot in as the 12 seed.
Without any more dilly-dallying, here’s the first College Football Playoff ranking for 2025:
1. Ohio State (8-0)
Last week: 38-14 win vs. Penn State
This week: at Purdue
2. Indiana (9-0)
Last week: 55-10 win at Maryland
This week: at Penn State
3. Texas A&M (8-0)
Last week: BYE
This week: at No. 22 Missouri
4. Alabama (7-1)
Last week: BYE
This week: vs. LSU
5. Georgia (7-1)
Last week: 24-20 win vs. Florida
This week: at Mississippi State
6. Ole Miss (8-1)
Last week: 30-14 win vs. South Carolina
This week: vs. The Citadel
7. BYU (8-0)
Last week: BYE
This week: at No. 8 Texas Tech
8. Texas Tech (8-1)
Last week: 43-20 win at Kansas State
This week: vs. No. 7 BYU
9. Oregon (7-1)
Last week: BYE
This week: at No. 20 Iowa
10. Notre Dame (6-2)
Last week: 25-10 win at Boston College
This week: vs. Navy
11. Texas (7-2)
Last week: 34-31 win vs. Vanderbilt
This week: BYE
12. Oklahoma (7-2)
Last week: 33-27 win at No. 25 Tennessee
This week: BYE
13. Utah (7-2)
Last week: 45-14 win vs. Cincinnati
This week: BYE
14. Virginia (8-1)
Last week: 31-21 win at California
This week: vs. Wake Forest
15. Louisville (7-1)
Last week: 28-16 win at Virginia Tech
This week: vs. California
16. Vanderbilt (7-2)
Last week: 34-31 loss at No. 11 Texas
This week: vs. Auburn
17. Georgia Tech (8-1)
Last week: 48-36 loss at NC State
This week: BYE
18. Miami (6-2)
Last week: 26-20 loss at SMU
This week: vs. Syracuse
19. USC (6-2)
Last week: 21-17 win at Nebraska
This week: vs. Northwestern
20. Iowa (6-2)
Last week: BYE
This week: vs. No. 9 Oregon
21. Michigan (7-2)
Last week: 21-16 win vs. Purdue
This week: BYE
22. Missouri (6-2)
Last week: BYE
This week: vs. No. 3 Texas A&M
23. Washington (6-2)
Last week: BYE
This week: at Wisconsin
24. Pittsburgh (7-2)
Last week: 35-20 win at Stanford
This week: BYE
25. Tennessee (6-3)
Last week: 33-27 loss at No. 12 Oklahoma
This week: BYE
If the season were to conclude today, Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, and Alabama would all receive byes to the quarterfinals.
The Hoosiers would play the winner of No. 7 BYU and No. 10 Notre Dame. The game would be played at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo.
Texas A&M would be matched up with the victor of No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 11 Virginia (reminder: the five highest-ranked conference champions get automatic bids, regardless of where they are relative to the top 12), with the game being played in Oxford.
Ohio State’s opponent would be either a rematch with No. 9 Oregon or against upstart No. 8 Texas Tech. The battle between those two teams would be in Lubbock.
Finally, Alabama’s prospects of advancing far could depend on what happens in the first-round game that precedes it. No. 5 Georgia would host Group of 6 representative Memphis in a matchup that probably wouldn’t be all that competitive. Who knows, though? It could be electric, and we just don’t even know it yet.
My advice to everybody overreacting to these first rankings is to take a chill pill. If anything, the first couple of weeks of the CFP rankings are more like a barometer than a thermometer. We’re all just getting a feel for what the committee values and what it doesn’t. At the moment, that picture is still coming together.
And after all, the D Poll comes out tomorrow, so if you’re looking for a ranking that will actually determine how the rest of this season plays out, just defer to that instead.