The fourth edition of the College Football Playoff Rankings were released Tuesday night with undefeated Oregon maintaining its spot at No. 1 as has been the case in every set of rankings during this initial year of the expanded 12-team field. Off to a dominant start this season, the Ducks sit in the top slot seeking to make their second playoff appearance overall — first since the four-team field debuted after the 2014 season.
Seven of 10 teams ranked No. 1 in a season’s initial CFP Rankings ultimately reached the playoff in the four-team era with Mississippi State (2014), Tennessee (2022) and Ohio State (2023) being the exceptions. With eight more spots in the field this season, Oregon sits in a strong position at 11-0 as the only remaining undefeated program in the nation.
Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and Notre Dame round out the top five with the Fighting Irish replacing Indiana, which fell in the Horseshoe against the Buckeyes last Saturday but retained a spot in the projected 12-team field.
Beyond Notre Dame moving into the top five — it is not eligible for a bye due to CFP rules — Arizona State now projected to take the last playoff spot despite being ranked No. 16 overall stands the most notable change in this week’s rankings.
The top Group of Five program in Tuesday’s release remained Boise State at No. 11. With the 12-team playoff model granting automatic bids to the five highest-ranked conference champions, the Broncos stand in pole position to earn that opportunity should they win their league. At this juncture, they would receive a bye. Other Group of Five teams in this week’s rankings are Tulane (17) and UNLV (22) with Army West Point dropping out from last week’s top 25.
Let’s take a look at the entire CFP Rankings top 25 along with the projected bracket seedings for the first 12 teams. Check out analysis by bowls expert Jerry Palm below.
College Football Playoff Rankings, Nov. 26
- Oregon (11-0) | Projected No. 1 seed
- Ohio State (10-1) | Projected No. 5 seed
- Texas (10-1) | Projected No. 2 seed
- Penn State (10-1) | Projected No. 6 seed
- Notre Dame (10-1) | Projected No. 7 seed
- Miami (FL) (10-1) | Projected No. 3 seed
- Georgia (9-2) | Projected No. 8 seed
- Tennessee (9-2) | Projected No. 9 seed
- SMU (10-1) | Projected No. 10 seed
- Indiana (10-1) | Projected No. 11 seed
- Boise State (10-1) | Projected No. 4 seed
- Clemson (9-2)
- Alabama (8-3)
- Ole Miss (8-3)
- South Carolina (8-3)
- Arizona State (9-2) | Projected No. 12 seed
- Tulane (9-2)
- Iowa State (9-2)
- BYU (9-2)
- Texas A&M (8-3)
- Missouri (8-3)
- UNLV (9-2)
- Illinois (8-3)
- Kansas State (8-3)
- Colorado (8-3)
Analysis by bowl expert Jerry Palm
Still to come.
