The Power Rankings and the College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff field is set, and the last Power Rankings before the playoff begins are here!
1. Indiana (13-0) (Last Week #2) (#1 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #1 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The only undefeated team in college football will play in the Rose Bowl in the College Football Playoff Semifinals. The Hoosiers, who won their first Big Ten Championship since 1967, and beat Ohio State for the first time since 1988, will play the winner of Alabama and Oklahoma in the first round. Indiana is clearly and rightly the #1 team in the country and the favorite right now.
2. Georgia (12-1) (Last Week #3) (#3 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #2 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Dawgs seemed to exorcise their Alabama demons in winning their third SEC championship in four years. This makes it their fourth College Football Playoff in five years. Kirby Smart is the top coach in the game, even with Ryan Day closing in on him. Georgia had a hard time with Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl last year, and it’s no coincidence that their first-round draw this year will either be an Ole Miss team they already beat, which is now without their head coach, or against a Group of Five team.
3. Texas Tech (12-1) (Last Week #5) (#4 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #4 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
BYU coach Kalani Sitake said he believes Texas Tech is the best team in the nation. I do not believe that is something he says lightly. Texas Tech and the Big 12 aren’t being taken seriously by the rest of college football, and I think they’re going to surprise some people. I have no doubt that whether they win or advance far in the bracket, the Red Raiders will change some minds in the College Football Playoff.
4. Ohio State (12-1) (Last Week #1) (#2 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #3 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The good news for the Buckeyes is they’ve been through this before. They know what they need to do to turn things around and win a second straight national championship. In more good news, their defense played a great game against the #1 team in the nation. If Ohio State can reevaluate like they did last year, and throw away the things that caused them to stumble against Indiana, they’ll bulldoze anyone they play, including in a rematch against IU.
5. BYU (11-2) (Last Week #7) (#12 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #12 and #13 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
I believe this will be the first and last time a Power Four conference team wins 11 games and is left out of the College Football Playoff. At least, it should be. BYU alone being unjustly snubbed might not have been enough of a catalyst, but Notre Dame being okey-doked too probably will. The Cougars have to deal with the snub and not being given an opponent from one of the two top conferences, and gear up for a solid Georgia Tech. Their offense foundered against an elite Texas Tech defense, and their defense was worn down. Other teams will likely have trouble with the Red Raiders, too. BYU can still have a historic season with a win over Georgia Tech, getting 12 wins for the first time since 2001.
6. Oregon (11-1) (Last Week #4) (#5 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #5 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Ducks have earned their seeding in the College Football Playoff. They’ll have home-field advantage when they host James Madison on December 20th. The Dukes aren’t a team to take lightly, but Oregon should be able to take care of them and advance to the quarterfinals for the second straight year. They’d have a tough opponent in Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl on their hands with a win over JMU.
7. Ole Miss (11-1) (Last Week #6) (#6 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #6 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Ole Miss has everything in their favor going into their opening round game against Tulane. It’s a rematch against a team they defeated 45-10. Ole Miss should make the quarterfinals with no trouble. You can be certain that they are given special treatment for their conference and TV affiliations. If Dan Lanning had been the new coach at LSU, there is no doubt that Oregon would’ve dropped below Ole Miss and Texas A&M among the 11-1 teams due to the coaching uncertainty, as Florida State did in 2023 with the Jordan Travis injury.
8. Texas A&M (11-1) (Last Week #8) (#7 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #7 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Aggies have a great matchup against Miami in the opening round. Being at Kyle Field should be a huge advantage for Texas A&M. This will be the best game of the opening round; however, it could be as one-sided as Ohio State-Tennessee from last year. I believe it will be competitive, but I wouldn’t be surprised if A&M blew Miami out of the water either.
9. James Madison (12-1) (Last Week #9) (#24 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #19 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
JMU is taking a lot of flak for making the College Football Playoff. They should ignore that noise completely. They’ve earned it. Only four other teams finished with a record as good or better than theirs, and only three of them were conference champions. As if what he’s done at Indiana wasn’t testament enough, James Madison’s success is a credit to their former head coach, Curt Cignetti. I think they drew a tough game against Oregon, and don’t expect them to win, but they will fight, and they’ve had a historic season that they should be forever proud of.
10. Tulane (11-2) (Last Week #19) (#20 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #17 and #18 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Winning 11 games, a conference championship, and earning a playoff berth helps one make a rare jump up the Power Rankings. It’s a little wild that Jake Retzlaff’s former team went 11-2 in a Power Four conference and was snubbed but his current team went 11-2 in a Group of Five conference and made the playoff. Tulane is playing with house money here. No one expects them to do any differently against Ole Miss than they did in September. A win here for them would be on the level of Boise State beating Oklahoma almost 20 years ago.
11. Miami (10-2) (Last Week #11) (#10 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #10 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Hurricanes’ losses to Louisville and SMU were bad, but they have some notable wins, too. They beat 10-2 Notre Dame, they beat Florida (Hello, Texas), and they beat Florida State (Hello, Alabama). Their body of work was just as good as Alabama’s and Oklahoma’s, and they’ll have a chance to prove that when they travel to Texas A&M for the first round of the playoff.
12. Notre Dame (10-2) (Last Week #12) (#11 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #9 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
I can’t blame Notre Dame for opting out of the postseason. The College Football Playoff Committee told them for weeks that they would be in over Miami, only to change their minds at the last second. While I believe Notre Dame should never have been ahead of Miami due to the head-to-head results, lying to them about it for weeks is inexcusable. In the end, Notre Dame wasn’t snubbed because of their head-to-head results with Miami, but because the Committee believed Miami would be an easier matchup for an SEC team, and used the season-opening loss as justification to bounce Notre Dame.
I also can’t remember a time when not playing on conference championship weekend hurt Notre Dame more. It cost them a playoff berth and a Heisman Trophy. One way Notre Dame can fight this in the future is to schedule 13 games. I’m not sure about NCAA permissions or things of that nature, but the Irish need that 13th data point. They’d likely have to sacrifice a bye week, but I think they should be willing to pay that price to get as many games as any other team can play in a season and maintain their independence.
13. Utah (10-2) (Last Week #13) (#15 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #15 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
14. Vanderbilt (10-2) (Last Week #16) (#14 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #12 and #13 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Vandy jumps Oklahoma and Alabama this week. Mainly because the more I look at the body of work of Oklahoma and Alabama, the more those two teams shouldn’t even be in the College Football Playoff. The Commodores are having a historic season, but they aren’t being falsely propped up. Their schedule is about the same as the Sooners and Crimson Tide’s. They have about the same number of quality wins as Oklahoma. While Bama beat them head-to-head, the Tide’s third loss and their loss to 5-7 Florida State are enough to have Vanderbilt ahead of them.
15. Oklahoma (10-2) (Last Week #14) (#8 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #8 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Oklahoma got in for winning two games. Somehow, beating three-loss Bama and three-loss UM is a top ten resume according to the College Football Playoff Committee. The Sooners lost to Ole Miss and Texas. Those were really the only four good games on their schedule. Wins over Tennessee and Missouri are practically meaningless. The SEC/Media apparatus claims those two teams are good wins, but in their combined record of 16-8, not one of the wins is over a team with a winning record. The Sooners barely scraped by 7-5 LSU. Oklahoma shouldn’t even be in the College Football Playoff
16. Alabama (10-3) (Last Week #15) (#9 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #11 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Brand bias is a real thing. If you slap Alabama’s season on Vanderbilt or Mississippi State, and they’re rightly left out of the College Football Playoff. Bama being blown out in the SEC Championship should have hurt them just like it hurt BYU. Even more importantly, their two-touchdown loss to 5-7 Florida State should have held them back. The Tide have tripped backside first into the CFP, and it’ll be up to them to prove that they didn’t get in because their name is Alabama and because they play in the SEC.
17. Kennesaw State (10-3) (Unranked Last Week) (Unranked in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Winning a conference championship matters. Two years in the FBS, and the Kennesaw State Owls have won a conference championship. The Conference USA champions will have a chance to win a bowl, get 11 wins, and finish a historic season when they play the MAC Champions, Western Michigan, in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.
18. North Texas (11-2) Last Week #10) (#25 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #23 and Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Mean Green have nothing to hang their heads about. 11 wins is the most they’ve ever had as an FBS team. They have a good chance to continue that success with new head coach Neal Brown in 2026. A New Mexico Bowl win over San Diego State would help make the success of 2025 more permanent and not a one-hit wonder.
19. Navy (9-2) (Last Week #18) (Unranked in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #22 and #25 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Navy still has a shot to finish 10-2 when they play Army on Saturday in America’s Game. They will then have a shot for 11 wins in the Liberty Bowl against Cincinnati. I love the Army-Navy Game, but it needs to be moved to the regular season. Army in 2024 and Navy in 2025 were both on the cusp of making the College Football Playoff; they need that game played before Selection Sunday to allow it to help the winner make it in. Thanksgiving Night sounds pretty good to me.
20. UNLV (10-3) (Last Week #20 (Unranked in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Unranked in the AP and Coaches Polls)
UNLV’s Boise woes continued, but they continued to maintain the momentum their program had built up in previous years in this season. They and New Mexico will be the top dogs of the Mountain West in 2026. It would go a long way toward being the best of the conference and the entire Group of Six if they were able to beat Ohio in the Frisco Bowl and get 11 wins for the second straight year.
21. Virginia (10-3) (Last Week #17) (#19 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #20 and #21 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Cavaliers had a shot at the College Football Playoff and missed. They still have a chance at an 11-win season with a Gator Bowl victory over Missouri. It would also help the ACC fight back against the simple truth that it is the fourth-best of the Power Four conferences. Even with the letdown with the playoff on the line, Coach Elliott has Virginia heading in the right direction.
22. Texas (9-3) (Last Week #21) (#13 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #14 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The loss to 4-8 Florida kept Texas out of the College Football Playoff, not scheduling Ohio State. Their late-season wins over Vanderbilt and Texas A&M are fantastic, and while they didn’t get them into the playoff, they are big for them moving forward and into 2026. So would a bowl victory over a 9-3 team from the Big Ten. Texas beat UM in 2024, and it propelled them to the semifinals. A 2025 victory could go a long way in setting them up to be just as good in 2026.
23. Arizona (9-3) (Last Week #22) (#17 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #21 and #20 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Arizona has an opportunity for a strong finish for themselves and the Big 12. A Holiday Bowl win over SMU would get them to 10-3 and be a solid win for the Big 12 over the ACC. Going from 4-8 to 9-3 and potentially 10-3 in season two of Brent Brennan would be a step in the right direction and further solidify their program’s foundation moving forward.
24. USC (9-3) (Last Week #23) (#16 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Ranked #16 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
The Trojans hold themselves to a high standard in college football and rightfully so. A 10-3 season may be what they consider their lowest acceptable level, but they have a shot at that with an Alamo Bowl win over TCU. It would be a step in the right direction for Lincoln Riley and USC. It would also show that they are prepared to be a B1G contender for the foreseeable future.
25. Houston (9-3) (Last Week #24) (#21 in the College Football Playoff Rankings) (Unranked and Ranked #24 in the AP and Coaches Polls)
Houston has had a great year two under head coach Willie Fritz. The Cougars were 4-8 in year one and have improved to 9-3. They’ll look to finish off the turnaround with a win over LSU in the Texas Bowl at home in the city of Houston. A 10-3 finish would be big for Houston, and a win for the Big 12 over the SEC would be big for the Big 12 Conference.
The Power Rankings Playoff Field
While the College Football Playoff Committee’s playoff field and bracket are known, the Power Rankings field would look a lot different. The truth is, BYU, Notre Dame, and Miami deserved to be in more than Oklahoma and Alabama. ESPN and the media have propped up the SEC, and that will likely play out in the postseason.
- Indiana (13-0)
- Georgia (12-1)
- Texas Tech (12-1)
- Ohio State (12-1)
- BYU (11-2)
- Oregon (11-1)
- Ole Miss (11-1)
- Texas A&M (11-1)
- Notre Dame (10-2)
- Miami (10-2)
- James Madison (12-1)
- Tulane (11-2)
Playoff Field and Projected Outcome
First Round
#8 Oklahoma (10-2) vs. #9 Alabama (10-3)
Friday, December 18th, 2025 – Norman, Oklahoma
#7 Texas A&M (11-1) vs. #10 Miami (10-2)
Saturday, December 19th, 2025 – College Station, Texas
#6 Ole Miss (11-1) vs. #11 Tulane (11-2)
Saturday, December 19th, 2025 – Oxford, Mississippi
#5 Oregon (11-1) vs. #12 James Madison (12-1)
Saturday, December 19th, 2025 – Eugene, Oregon
Quarterfinals
#1 Indiana (13-0) vs. #8 Oklahoma (11-2)
Thursday, January 1st, 2026 – Pasadena, California
#4 Texas Tech (12-1) vs. #5 Oregon (12-1)
Thursday, January 1st, 2026 – Miami, Florida
#3 Georgia (12-1) vs. #6 Ole Miss (12-1)
Thursday, January 1st, 2026 – New Orleans, Louisiana
#2 Ohio State (12-1) vs. #7 Texas A&M (12-1)
Wednesday, December 31st, 2025 – Arlington, Texas
Semifinals
#2 Ohio State (13-1) vs. #3 Georgia (13-1)
Thursday, January 8th, 2026 – Glendale, Arizona
#1 Indiana (14-0) vs. #4 Texas Tech (13-1)
Friday, January 9th, 2026 – Atlanta, Georgia
National Championship
#2 Ohio State (14-1) vs. #4 Texas Tech (14-1)
Monday, January 19th, 2026 – Miami, Florida
National Champions
Ohio State (15-1)
