College Football Playoff rankings: Georgia moves to No. 1 as Alabama, UCLA join top four in second version
The second edition of the College Football Playoff rankings were released Tuesday night, with Georgia taking the top spot. Last week’s No. 1 team, Miami (FL), fell to Notre Dame in one of the most anticipated games of the 2026 season on Saturday night in Week 10. Simultaneously, the Bulldogs made an emphatic statement by demolishing Ole Miss on the road in Oxford, paving the way for Kirby Smart and the Dawgs to sit atop the CFP rankings heading into Week 11.
With a record of 8-1 (6-1 SEC) with three weeks remaining in the regular season, Georgia appears to be a lock to make the 12-team bracket unless it stumbles mightily down this final stretch. Missouri, South Carolina and Georgia Tech – one of this season’s most notable disappointments – remain, along with a possible appearance in the SEC Championship Game. If the Dawgs continue to play to the standard they have set for themselves in 2026, another CFP appearance awaits them.
Utah (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) fills the void left by Georgia in second place, as Morgan Scalley continues to impress in his first season leading the Utes following the departure of Kyle Whittingham. One of two undefeated teams remaining at the FBS level, Utah is coming off its biggest win of the season, outlasting rival BYU in the Holy War in Week 10. A tough test awaits Scalley and the Utes this week with a road trip to Arizona on the schedule.
Rounding out the top five, Alabama moved up to No. 3 on the heels of its win over LSU. Meanwhile, UCLA, one of two remaining unbeatens in the FBS, moved into the top four and Notre Dame moved up to No. 5 after its blowout win over Miami.
With the 12-team playoff model awarding automatic bids to the five highest-ranked conference champions, Boise State would occupy the last spot if the field was picked today at the Group of Six level, as the Broncos come in at No. 24.
~ Goodbye to the first round
- Georgia (8-1) ~
- Utah (9-0) ~
- Alabama (7-2) ~
- UCLA (9-0) ~
- Notre Dame (8-1)
- Texas (7-2)
- Miami (8-1)
- Tennessee (7-2)
- Indiana (8-1)
- BYU (7-2)
- Kentucky (7-2)
- Texas Tech (8-1)
- Wake Forest (8-1)
- Houston (7-2)
- Iowa (7-2)
- Oregon (6-3)
- South Carolina (6-3)
- USC (7-2)
- Ole Miss (6-3)
- Ohio State (6-3)
- LSU (6-3)
- Missouri (6-3)
- Arizona (7-2)
- Boise State (8-1)
- Oklahoma State (6-3)
Takeaways from the second CFP ranking
There isn’t as much blame this week as last, now that we’ve received a glimpse into the selection committee process this season and where teams initially ranked in relation to ‘pods’ and various clusters. These 13 members wanted to see a signature victory – or else – for Notre Dame against Miami, and the Fighting Irish delivered. Moving from No. 11 to No. 5 on Tuesday night is substantial and puts Marcus Freeman’s team on the threshold of a first-round matchup at home.
“We talked last week that Notre Dame had a lot of respect from the committee, a dominant team, but hadn’t had the signature win yet, and they looked like the Notre Dame team that should be ranked No. 5. They were up 24-3 (over Miami),” CFP President Hunter Yurachek said.
The biggest surprise was Indiana’s five-spot drop to No. 9, despite not playing this weekend. The selection committee starts from scratch every week, and their reclassification has somehow done the Hoosiers, who host USC this weekend, any favors.
Three SEC locks
Georgia’s move to No. 1 was vindicated after the Bulldogs’ 35-point outburst at Ole Miss. The Bulldogs are now No. 1 in game control and No. 2 in record strength after this win and have looked incredibly impressive since their loss to Auburn on October 17.
Widely considered the most overrated team during last week’s initial reveal at No. 5, Alabama strengthened the selection committee’s guts following the Crimson Tide’s 31-13 victory at LSU. Ranked close to the FBS leaders in saving strength, SOS and game control, take the Sharpie to third-place Alabama with Vanderbilt, Chattanooga and Auburn remaining to play.
Texas, now ranked sixth, is top-15 in every measurable this season after beating Missouri on the road, a distinction no other team in the SEC has at this point. The Longhorns also hold the key data point associated with a nation-leading four wins. Steve Sarkisian gets a chance another Saturday at LSU. After knocking out non-conference Ohio State and the win at Tennessee, coupled with three straight wins since losing two in a row in October, Texas has margin for error to be an at-large pick even if it loses another one.
UCLA left no stone unturned
After debuting at No. 8, UCLA moved to No. 4 in the second rankings. The metrics suggest the Bruins deserved to be this high given their SOR (1st) and GC (9th), but a 67th-ranked SOS isn’t strong. Winning secures UCLA a spot in the Big Ten Championship, but not necessarily a top-4 seed. The Bruins will host Illinois, which has won four straight, on Friday night before finishing the campaign with Michigan and USC.
Oregon leads teams with three losses
The Ducks’ win at Ohio State pushed them ahead of the Buckeyes, who suffered an eight-spot drop from No. 12. Oregon now owns three ranked wins this season, which is tied for second in the nation behind Texas (4). South Carolina held off Texas A&M to earn its fourth straight victory over the weekend and improved its CFP ranking to 17th, up four spots from last week.
- No. 16 Oregon (6-3)
- No. 17 South Carolina (6-3)
- No. 19 Ole Miss (6-3)
- No. 20 Ohio State (6-3)
- No. 21 LSU (6-3)
CAC drama
My biggest question going into this second reveal was where the selection committee would place previously No. 1 seed Miami. We saw them downgrade Ohio State after losing quarterback Julian Sayin to injury, so what would they do with Miami after Malachi Toney’s unfortunate practice accident led to a loss in South Bend? A drop of six places is not justifiable when you consider that the Hurricanes were the equivalent of a near unanimous number one by week.
As for the ACC’s chance at being a two-bid league, Wake Forest brings up the rear at 13th. The Demon Deacons, who play at SMU on Saturday, are the only team ranked by the selection committee this week with just one win this season against an opponent with a record above .500. For comparison, Texas has six such wins, leading the nation, while Miami has four (leading the ACC) and more than Wake Forest, SMU and Duke. combined.
Gn sports
