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The second edition of the College Football Playoff Rankings was released Tuesday night with Georgia taking over the No. 1 spot. Last week's No. 1 team, Miami (FL), fell to Notre Dame in one of the most-anticipated games of the 2026 season on Saturday night in Week 10. Simultaneously, the Bulldogs made an emphatic statement by demolishing Ole Miss on the road in Oxford, clearing the path for Kirby Smart and the Dawgs to sit atop the CFP Rankings heading into Week 11.
Sitting at 8-1 (6-1 SEC) with three weeks left in the regular season, Georgia seems like a lock to make the 12-team bracket unless it stumbles mightily down this final stretch. Missouri, South Carolina and Georgia Tech -- one of the more notable disappointments of this season -- remain, plus a potential SEC Championship Game appearance. Should the Dawgs continue to play to the standard they've set for themselves in 2026, another appearance in the CFP lies ahead.
Filling the void left by Georgia at the No. 2 spot is Utah (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) as Morgan Scalley continues to impress in his first season leading the Utes following Kyle Whittingham's departure. One of two unbeaten teams remaining at the FBS level, Utah is coming off its biggest win of the season, outlasting archrival BYU in the Holy War in Week 10. A tough test awaits Scalley and the Utes this week with a road trip to Arizona on tap.
Rounding out the top five, Alabama moved to No. 3 on the heels of its win over LSU. Meanwhile, UCLA, one of two remaining unbeatens in the FBS, joined the top four and Notre Dame rose to No. 5 after its marquee win over Miami.
With the 12-team playoff model granting automatic bids to the five highest-ranked conference champions, Boise State would take the last spot if the field were chosen today from the Group of Six level, as the Broncos come in at No. 24.
~ First-round bye
There's not near as much griping this week compared to last, now that we've received an overview of the selection committee's process this season and where teams initially fell with respect to "pods" and various clusters. Those 13 members wanted to see a signature win — or else — from Notre Dame against Miami, and the Fighting Irish delivered. Rising from No. 11 to No. 5 on Tuesday night is substantial and puts Marcus Freeman's team on the threshold of a first-round home game.
"We talked last week that Notre Dame had a lot of respect from the committee, a dominant team, but had yet to have the signature win, and they looked like the Notre Dame team that should be ranked No. 5. They were up 24-3 (on Miami)," CFP chair Hunter Yurachek said.
The biggest surprise was Indiana's five-spot drop to No. 9, despite not playing over the weekend. The selection committee starts from scratch every week, and their re-ranking of sorts did no favors to the Hoosiers, who host USC this weekend.
Georgia's move to No. 1 was justified after the Bulldogs' 35-point rampage at Ole Miss. The Bulldogs are now No. 1 in game control and No. 2 in strength of record after that victory and have looked incredibly impressive since their upset loss to Auburn on Oct. 17.
Widely considered the most overrated team in last week's initial reveal at No. 5, Alabama strengthened the selection committee's gut after the Crimson Tide's 31-13 win at LSU. Rated near the FBS leaders in strength of record, SOS and game control, grab the Sharpie for third-ranked Alabama, with Vanderbilt, Chattanooga and Auburn left to play.
Texas, now ranked sixth, is top-15 in every measurable metric this season after beating Missouri on the road, a distinction no other SEC team has at this point. The Longhorns also hold the key data point associated with a nation-leading four ranked wins. Steve Sarkisian has a chance at another Saturday at LSU. After taking out Ohio State in the non-conference and the victory at Tennessee, coupled with three straight wins since dropping two consecutive in October, Texas has margin for error to be an at-large pick even if it loses another.
After debuting at No. 8, UCLA moved to No. 4 in the second rankings. The metrics suggest the Bruins deserved to be this high considering their SOR (1st) and GC (9th), but a SOS slotted at No. 67 is not strong. Winning out assures UCLA of a spot in the Big Ten Championship, but not necessarily a top-4 seed. The Bruins on Friday night host Illinois, who's won four straight, before ending the campaign with Michigan and USC.
The Ducks' win at Ohio State pushed them ahead of the Buckeyes, who suffered an eight-spot drop from No. 12. Oregon now holds three ranked wins this season, which is tied for second-most in the country behind Texas (4). South Carolina held off Texas A&M to win its fourth straight over the weekend and improved its CFP ranking to No. 17, up four spots from last week.
My biggest question entering this second reveal was where the selection committee would put previously top-ranked Miami. We saw them downgrade Ohio State after losing quarterback Julian Sayin to injury, so what would they do with Miami after Malachi Toney's unfortunate practice mishap leading to a loss in South Bend? A six-spot tumble is not justifiable when you consider the Hurricanes were the equivalent of a near-unanimous No. 1 a week.
As for the ACC's shot at being a two-bid league, Wake Forest is bringing up the rear at No. 13. The Demon Deacons, who play at SMU on Saturday, are the only team ranked by the selection committee this week with just one victory this season over an opponent with a record above .500. By comparison, Texas has a nation-leading six such wins, while Miami has four (tops in the ACC) and more than Wake Forest, SMU and Duke combined.
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