Unbeaten Oregon has secured the top spot in the initial College Football Playoff rankings released by the selection committee. The Ducks are followed by Ohio State, Georgia, Miami, and Texas in the top five positions. Penn State, Tennessee, Indiana, BYU, Notre Dame, Alabama, and Boise State complete the top 12 teams that would compete in the expanded playoff at the end of the season.
Under the new CFP format, the top four seeds must be conference champions, which would give Oregon, Georgia, Miami, and BYU first-round byes based on the initial rankings. The first-round matchups would feature Boise State at Ohio State, Alabama at Texas, Notre Dame at Penn State, and Indiana at Tennessee.
Ohio State is currently the favorite to win the national title, followed closely by Georgia and Oregon. The odds did not see significant changes after the release of the rankings. The SEC and Big Ten each have four teams in the top 12, with BYU representing the Big 12 and Miami standing as the sole ACC team in the top 12 following Clemson’s recent loss to Louisville.
Boise State is the highest-ranked team from a Group of Five conference, while SMU, Texas A&M, LSU, and other teams round out the top 25. The CFP selection committee emphasized that the ranking process remains the same despite the larger bracket, with the goal of identifying the best 25 teams.
Chairman Warde Manuel explained that Ohio State secured the No. 2 spot due to its close loss to Oregon, placing them ahead of Georgia. Indiana, currently undefeated, sits just ahead of BYU in the rankings, with both teams showcasing strong performances on the field.
Army, also undefeated, would need to surpass Boise State to secure an automatic selection as the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion. The playoff games are scheduled to be held at the higher-seeded teams’ campuses, with the quarterfinals and semifinals set to take place at various bowl games.
The CFP National Championship is slated for January 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. With the college football season heating up, fans can look forward to thrilling matchups and intense competition as teams vie for a shot at the national title.
