CFP bracket: Ohio State remains on top as Texas A&M tumbles

• College Football

Here are the latest rankings from the College Football Playoff Selection Committee

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One last time, before the rankings that truly matter are released …

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee just unveiled its penultimate set of rankings for the 2025-2026 College Football Playoff, just days before conference championship games begin. Heading into Tuesday, the Committee had several questions they needed to answer. How far would Texas A&M fall after losing to Texas? How far would Texas rise after knocking off the No. 3 team in these rankings from a week ago? What impact, if any, would Lane Kiffin’s departure from Oxford have on Ole Miss? How would the Committee view Miami? Where would they stand on a five-loss Duke team that advanced to the ACC Championship Game? Was the door open for a second Group of 5 team to make the bracket?

Would the Committee be swayed by Vanderbilt’s presentation?

We now have answers to those questions, and more.

Here are the latest rankings from the College Football Playoff Committee, followed by the hypothetical bracket, and some takeaways.

The latest CFP rankings

1. Ohio State (12-0)2. Indiana (12-0)3. Georgia (11-1)4. Texas Tech (11-1)5. Oregon (11-1)6. Ole Miss (11-1)7. Texas A&M (11-1)8. Oklahoma (10-2)9. Alabama (10-2)10. Notre Dame (10-2)11. BYU (11-1)12. Miami (10-2)13. Texas (9-3)14. Vanderbilt (10-2)15. Utah (10-2)16. USC (9-3)17. Virginia (10-2)18. Arizona (9-3)19. Michigan (9-3)20. Tulane (10-2)21. Houston (9-3)22. Georgia Tech (9-3)23. Iowa (8-4)24. North Texas (11-1)25. James Madison (11-1)

The CFP bracket

Here is the hypothetical College Football Playoff bracket, given these rankings:

You will note that the No. 11 and No. 12 teams are now listed as “Conference Champion #4” and “Conference Champion #5,” respectively.

This is largely based on the chaos that is unfolding in the ACC, where No. 17 Virginia (10-2) is playing Duke (7-5). If Virginia wins (and they are favored in that game), then in all likelihood the Cavaliers will take the No. 11 spot, and No. 12 will go to the highest ranked conference champion from the Group of 5.

At the moment, that is No. 20 Tulane.

However, if Duke pulls off the upset, then perhaps the AAC Champion slides into the No. 11 spot, and another Group of 5 team slides into the No. 12 spot.

Here are some other quick thoughts from the rankings:

• Ole Miss was not penalized for the departure of Lane Kiffin. Even with their head coach taking the job at LSU, Ole Miss moved up a spot in this week’s rankings and are safely in the field.
• Miami and Notre Dame are nervous, and with reason. BYU and Miami were the last two teams out, and Notre Dame is right on the cut line at the moment. With Notre Dame at home this weekend as the conference championship games are played, there is a chance the Fighting Irish will be left out in the final College Football Playoff bracket. Plus, Notre Dame moved down a spot in the rankings this week, and with BYU playing Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship Game, if the Cougars win this weekend, they might be in the field, leaving Notre Dame out in the cold.
• With Texas A&M losing to Texas on Friday night, the Aggies are now likely out of the first-round bye picture. Texas A&M dropped to No. 7, and in this hypothetical bracket they would be hosting Notre Dame in a First Round game. Texas A&M defeated Notre Dame 41-40 in early September.
• As mentioned above, the true chaos scenario remains in play. Under the College Football Playoff rules, the five highest-ranked conference champions are guaranteed a spot in the field. This is how we could see a second Group of 5 team in the bracket. One spot likely goes to the ACC, provided No. 17 Virginia defeats Duke in the ACC Championship Game, with the other going to the winner of the AAC Championship Game, between No. 20 Tulane and No. 24 North Texas. But if Duke pulls off the upset, the door is now open for No. 25 James Madison to perhaps take the second spot, shutting the ACC out of the bracket. Provided, of course, James Madison wins in the Sun Belt Championship Game Friday night against Troy. That would come down to how the Committee would rank both Duke and James Madison in this scenario.

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