In just a few weeks, the first 12-team College Football Playoff bracket will be set, and as the season winds down, the committee is getting a better look at the landscape.
Since the first rankings two weeks ago, there have been upsets, close calls and plenty of debate. On Tuesday, the committee released its third official top 25. There will be three more re-rankings, concluding with Selection Day on Sunday, December 8.
Without further ado, here’s the committee’s latest rankings (as of Nov. 19).
1. Oregon (11-0)
2. Ohio State (9-1)
3. Texas (9-1)
4. Penn State (9-1)
5. Indiana (10-0)
6. Notre Dame (9-1)
7. Alabama (8-2)
8. Miami (9-1)
9. Ole Miss (8-2)
10. Georgia (8-2)
11. Tennessee (8-2)
12. Boise State (9-1)
13. SMU (9-1)
14. BYU (9-1)
15. Texas A&M (8-2)
16. Colorado (8-2)
17. Clemson (8-2)
18. South Carolina (7-3)
19. Army (9-0)
20. Tulane (9-2)
21. Arizona State (8-2)
22. Iowa State (8-2)
23. Missouri (7-3)
24. UNLV (8-2)
25. Illinois (7-3)
The committee is sending a clear message this week: Indiana has a slim margin for error.
The No. 5 Hoosiers will face No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday in Columbus, and it could be a make or break for a 10-0 Indiana team. Three one-loss teams are ranked ahead of the Hoosiers. Why? Because they have more difficult schedules and compelling resumes. Indiana can’t change its schedule, which is comparatively easy, but it can go to Columbus and make a statement by beating the Buckeyes.
Meanwhile, in the lower half of the top 10, the committee shows how it values head-to-head results, with two-loss Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia and Tennessee teams having beat up on one another this season.
The 12-team playoff is a bit more involved than its four-team predecessor, so let’s take a look at how it will work.
Previously, the four-team playoff, which decided the national champion from 2014-2023, simply pitted the top four teams in the country against one another in two semifinal games that rotated between the New Year’s Six bowls. No. 1 faced No. 4 and No. 2 faced No. 3. The winner of each semifinal advanced to the national championship game.
With the expansion to 12 teams, which is guaranteed for at least the 2024 and 2025 seasons (additional expansion can happen as early as 2026), there’s more to making the playoff, and a team’s positioning in the playoff, than just being ranked in the top four.
Here’s how the 12 teams will be selected:
1. Guaranteed bids. The top five conference champions in the CFP rankings are guaranteed bids. Note: No conference is guaranteed an automatic bid, and a conference must have at least eight members for its champion to be eligible for a guaranteed bid.2. At-large bids. After the top five conference champions, the seven highest-ranked remaining teams will be selected. Note: This could include additional conference champions.
Also new for the 12-team playoff? First-round byes and games on college campuses.
Yep, you read that right. The four highest-ranked conference champions will receive first-round byes. The remaining teams will play each other in the first round at the home field of the better seeds or an alternate venue if the higher-ranked team chooses.
First round matchups will see:
The teams that had first round byes will then face the first-round winners as follows:
The New Year’s Six bowls will continue to host the semifinals and, now, the quarterfinals. The championship game will continue to be held at a separately determined neutral site, with the 2024 season champion to be decided in Atlanta, Georgia, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 20, 2025.
If the 12-team playoff was decided by Tuesday’s rankings, Boise State, Oregon, Miami and Texas would get first-round byes. In the first round, BYU would play Ohio State (winner would play Boise State), Alabama would play Notre Dame (winner would play Oregon), Georgia would play Penn State (winner would play Miami), and Ole Miss would play Indiana (winner would play Texas).