Alabama drops to No. 10 in latest College Football Playoff rankings
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The latest College Football Playoff rankings saw no change in the top three, but a blowout loss to the previous No. 4 seed dropped them to the bottom of the list.
The Alabama Crimson Tide lost a very close 23-21 loss at home to the Oklahoma Sooners, and it cost them dearly in the eyes of the selection committee. They dropped from 4th to 10th place.
Meanwhile, Georgia Bulldogs, who ranked 5th in the first two rankings, also ranked 4th.
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Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables greets visitors prior to Bedlam against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on November 19, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma. The Sooners won 28-13. (Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M are in the top four, ranked Nos. 1 through 3, respectively, and each will receive a bye if the playoffs begin today.
It was interesting to see the Crimson Tide behind the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who were ranked 9th. Notre Dame has no other wins in the top 25 this season and has four wins to Alabama’s just one.
Texas Tech moved up to No. 5, followed by Ole Miss, Oregon and Oklahoma, and rose to No. 8 after a big road victory in Tuscaloosa.
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Looking beyond the top 10, BYU sits at No. 11, followed by Utah, Miami, Vanderbilt and USC in the top 15. The Hurricanes had a particularly big weekend, beating NC State 41-7, helping them move up two spots in the standings.
Of course, while both Miami and Notre Dame have an 8-2 mark overall, the Hurricanes and their fan base are certainly not happy about being four spots behind the Fighting Irish, considering they beat them earlier this season.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman greets a player before the Orange Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff semifinal game against Penn State on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Florida. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
“The No. 1 criterion is always head-to-head. That’s why we play the game, right?” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said this via ESPN. “That has always been and always will be the No. 1 factor.”
But the other side of the debate is how the Hurricanes took their two losses compared to Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish lost to the Hurricanes and Texas Longhorns; both were ranked teams. However, Miami was upset by unranked Louisville and SMU this season.
Speaking of the Longhorns, they moved up to No. 17 after a lopsided 35-10 loss to Georgia, which pushed them to 7-3 on the season. Georgia Tech is right ahead of them at 16th, while Michigan (18th), Virginia (19th) and Tennessee (20th) are behind them.
Rounding out the top 25 were Illinois, Missouri, Houston, Tulane and Arizona State, respectively.
Ty Simpson of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts after a loss to the Oklahoma Sooners in the third quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on November 15, 2025. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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As always, the conference’s top five champions will be in the 12-team field this playoff season. But there’s a reminder: This will be a straight rankings model, not one where every winner of the Power Four conferences will automatically get a bye.
There are only two weeks left in the regular season, and the conference championships will ultimately determine how the College Football Playoff field shakes out.
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