2024-25 College Football Playoff Rankings Update
Conference Championship Week
The College Football Playoff Committee released another edition of its top 25 rankings on Tuesday night.
This is the final edition before the 12-team playoff field is revealed following this weekend’s conference championship games.
Oregon (12-0)
Texas (11-1)
Penn State (11-1)
Notre Dame (11-1)
Georgia (10-2)
Ohio State (10-2)
Tennessee (10-2)
SMU (11-1)
Indiana (11-1)
Boise State (11-1)
Alabama (9-3)
Miami (FL) (10-2)
Ole Miss (9-3)
South Carolina (9-3)
Arizona State (10-2)
Iowa State (10-2)
Clemson (9-3)
BYU (10-2)
Missouri (9-3)
UNLV (10-2)
Illinois (9-3)
Syracuse (9-3)
Colorado (9-3)
Army (10-1)
Memphis (10-2)
Oregon remains No.1 as the only 12-0 team in the country, followed by 11-1 Texas at No. 2. Interestingly, the Longhorns are ahead of a No. 5 Georgia team that they lost to earlier in the season, but they do have a better record and have been playing better than the Bulldogs over recent weeks. Plus, the committee has always been incredibly inconsistent in weighing head-to-head results.
Ohio State drops to No. 6 after an inexplicable home loss to Michigan. The Buckeyes are now the third Big Ten team behind Oregon and No. 3 Penn State, further diminishing head-to-head wins, as Ohio State won at Penn State in early November.
Tennessee and Indiana are in the best spots for teams not playing in the conference championship games. Both are firmly in the top 10 and cannot have another loss before the field is announced, making it difficult for any team behind them to take over a spot.
There will be plenty of debate about whether SMU can lose the ACC Championship Game and still get in. As a team unbeaten in conference with better wins than Miami (FL) and a top-8 ranking, the Mustangs have earned a spot in the field. However, there could be a dangerous precedent set if the committee opts for an SEC team over SMU.
Boise State remains the top-ranked Group of Five team at No. 10. It will be the G5 representative with a win over No. 20 UNLV in the Mountain West Championship, but a UNLV win could make that less certain. The Runnin’ Rebels and Army are clinging to slim hopes entering the final week.
The Big 12 champion will get into the field as a Power 4 conference champion, but are there teams with better resumes? The two teams playing for that conference title are No. 15 Arizona State and No. 16 Iowa State. Usually, a potential Power 4 champion would be in the top 10, but both these teams are behind at least 4 teams that have a case to make the field.
At least one of those teams will miss out despite having a better resume. One argument for the 12-team field after an unbeaten Florida State missed the 4-team playoff last year was that we wouldn't have to leave out teams with deserving resumes, yet that is clearly not the case.