Andrea AdelsonNov 4, 2025, 08:16 PM ETClose ACC reporter. Joined ESPN.com in 2010. Graduate of the University of Florida.Follow on X
McElroy: ‘These rankings make sense!’ (0:49)Greg McElroy appears surprised that he agrees with the College Football Playoff rankings. (0:49)
Ohio State is the No. 1 team in the first rankings released Tuesday by the College Football Playoff selection committee, topping fellow unbeatens Indiana at No. 2 and Texas A&M at No. 3.
BYU, Texas Tech, Oregon and Notre Dame round out the top 10. The top ACC team is Virginia at No. 14. Every team in the top 25 came from a Power 4 conference, so the committee designated Memphis as the top team from the Group of 5.
The five highest-ranked conference champions will make the 12-team field, but there is a tweak to the format this year, as the committee is using a straight seeding model. The top four teams in the final ranking, regardless of conference championship, will receive a first-round bye.
If the playoff were today, the first-round games would be Memphis at Georgia, Virginia at Ole Miss, Notre Dame at BYU, and Oregon at Texas Tech.
“But again, when we looked at tape and we looked at metrics, we felt that Ohio State was a little bit better up front, on the offensive line. And we thought they were better defensively.”
Despite having two losses, Notre Dame finds itself in position to make the CFP as an at-large team for the second straight season. Though the only notable win the Fighting Irish have is over No. 19 USC, both of their losses came in the closing minute, to No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 18 Miami, during the first two weeks of the season.
Despite having the same number of losses and the head-to-head win over the Irish, Miami is ranked eight spots lower than Notre Dame after losing 26-20 in overtime to SMU on Saturday. Though the Hurricanes have more notable victories, their losses have put them on the outside of the 12-team field, in what could be a repeat of last year.
“We’re sitting here looking at head to head, we’re looking at common opponents, we’re looking at schedule strength, we’re looking at record strength, we’re looking at all of the analytics,” Rhoades said. “So we truly try to look at each team on its own and its body of work.”
Though Texas and quarterback Arch Manning have looked shaky at times over the course of the season, the Longhorns are ranked No. 11 after a big win over No. 16 Vanderbilt. They also beat Oklahoma 23-6 last month. Unlike Miami and Notre Dame, that head-to-head win is what is separating Texas and the No. 12 Sooners, both with the same 7-2 record.
Utah is ranked No. 13, with Virginia at No. 14 and Louisville at No. 15. The Cardinals have a win over Miami, but they lost to Virginia earlier this season.
Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech, Miami, USC, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Washington, Pittsburgh and Tennessee round out the top 25. The Volunteers are the only three-loss team in the rankings.
The final CFP rankings will be announced Dec. 7, the day after conference championship games are played.
The two semifinal games will take place at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Jan. 8 and 9, respectively.
The CFP National Championship game is scheduled for Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
McElroy: ‘These rankings make sense!’ (0:49)Greg McElroy appears surprised that he agrees with the College Football Playoff rankings. (0:49)
THE FIRST 12-TEAM CFP BRACKET PROJECTION OF THE SEASON‼️ The committee selected Memphis as the best team from the remaining conferences. pic.twitter.com/EU6NCc33Ds
Greg McElroy appears surprised that he agrees with the College Football Playoff rankings. (0:49)
Three SEC teams follow the Aggies, with Alabama at No. 4, Georgia at No. 5 and Ole Miss at No. 6.
Close ACC reporter. Joined ESPN.com in 2010. Graduate of the University of Florida.Follow on X