The College Football Playoff selection committee released its first top 25 rankings of the season on Tuesday night, November 3, putting undefeated Miami at No. 1. Georgia is No. 2, followed by Utah at No. 3, Indiana at No. 4, and Alabama at No. 5.
What we know / What we don’t know
What we know: The committee unveiled the rankings on ESPN during its 7–8 p.m. ET show on November 3. Miami (8-0) opens at No. 1, and the top four teams — Miami, Georgia, Utah, and Indiana — would earn a first-round bye if the season ended today. The full top 25 is listed below, with records taken from the committee’s official rankings page.
What we don’t know: How this weekend’s games will shake up next week’s list, which teams will win their conference championships and claim automatic bids, and what the final 12-team field will look like when it is announced on Sunday, December 6.
Key facts
Released: Tuesday, November 3, during the 7–8 p.m. ET show on ESPN
No. 1: Miami (8-0), the only undefeated team at the top of the list
Top 5: Miami, Georgia (7-1), Utah (8-0), Indiana (8-1), Alabama (6-2)
Next rankings: Tuesday, November 10
Final field announced: Sunday, December 6
First-round games: Friday, December 18, and Saturday, December 19, played on campus sites
Source: The College Football Playoff selection committee’s official rankings, confirmed by USA Today, Sports Illustrated, and 247Sports
The full top 25
Here is the committee’s first top 25 of the season, with each team’s record as listed on the committee’s official rankings page:
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 8-0 |
| 2 | Georgia | 7-1 |
| 3 | Utah | 8-0 |
| 4 | Indiana | 8-1 |
| 5 | Alabama | 6-2 |
| 6 | Kentucky | 7-1 |
| 7 | Texas | 6-2 |
| 8 | UCLA | 8-0 |
| 9 | BYU | 7-1 |
| 10 | Ole Miss | 6-2 |
| 11 | Notre Dame | 7-1 |
| 12 | Ohio State | 6-2 |
| 13 | Tennessee | 6-2 |
| 14 | LSU | 6-2 |
| 15 | Texas Tech | 7-1 |
| 16 | Wake Forest | 7-1 |
| 17 | Houston | 6-2 |
| 18 | Missouri | 6-2 |
| 19 | Iowa | 6-2 |
| 20 | Southern California | 7-2 |
| 21 | South Carolina | 5-3 |
| 22 | Arizona | 6-2 |
| 23 | Oregon | 5-3 |
| 24 | Florida | 5-3 |
| 25 | Boise State | 7-1 |
Why Miami is No. 1
Miami’s spot at the top surprised almost nobody. The Hurricanes are one of just three undefeated teams left in the rankings, and they have held the No. 1 spot in the polls for three weeks. As USA Today noted, Miami survived an overtime game against Florida State and a close call at North Carolina last month, and still came out unbeaten.
The ACC leader now has the clearest path of any team to the No. 1 seed. If Miami keeps winning, it will stay in the driver’s seat for a first-round bye and the most favorable road through the playoff bracket.
Georgia, Utah, and Indiana round out the top four
Georgia sits at No. 2 with a 7-1 record. The Bulldogs’ only loss was a strange home defeat to Auburn, but their run through the SEC schedule was strong enough to keep them ahead of everyone except Miami.
Utah is No. 3 at 8-0, the second undefeated team in the top five. The Utes lead the Big 12 and have quietly built one of the best records in the country. UCLA, at No. 8, is the third undefeated team in the rankings.
Indiana, the defending national champion, checks in at No. 4 with an 8-1 record. The Hoosiers are the highest-ranked team in the Big Ten, and if the season ended today, they would earn a first-round bye. Indiana has not ranked outside the top 10 in the committee’s rankings since the 2023 season, a run of consistency few programs can match.
Alabama at No. 5 draws instant debate
Alabama’s place at No. 5, despite two losses, was the first big talking point of the night. The Crimson Tide sit ahead of one-loss Kentucky and undefeated UCLA, which tells you how much the committee values Alabama’s schedule and its wins.
That is the nature of these early rankings: they are a snapshot, not a verdict. Alabama’s position will be tested in the coming weeks, and the committee’s view can shift fast when ranked teams play each other.
The SEC dominates the list
Count the conferences and one thing stands out: 10 of the 25 teams in the first rankings come from the SEC. Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, Texas, Ole Miss, Tennessee, LSU, Missouri, South Carolina, and Florida all made the cut.
The Big Ten placed six teams, led by Indiana at No. 4. The Big 12 placed five, led by Utah at No. 3. The ACC placed two, but one of them — Miami — sits at the very top. Notre Dame, an independent, is No. 11. Boise State, at No. 25, is the only team from a Group of Six conference in the first rankings.
That balance matters because the 12-team playoff field includes the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus seven at-large teams. A conference with more ranked teams has more paths into the field — and more chances to lose a spot when its teams beat each other.
How this list differs from the AP poll
Fans who follow the AP Top 25 will notice some differences right away. The committee’s rankings are built by a selection committee that watches games and weighs strength of schedule, head-to-head results, and results against common opponents. The AP poll is voted on by sportswriters. The two lists often disagree early in the season, and that gap usually narrows as the season goes on.
For context, see how the AP poll looked heading into this week in our earlier report on the AP Top 25 Week 10 shakeup. The committee’s list is the one that counts for the playoff, but the AP poll is still a useful guide to how the season is being talked about week to week.
What to watch this weekend
The rankings set up several games that could change next week’s list in a hurry:
Kentucky at Tennessee: Kentucky is No. 6 and Tennessee is No. 13, and they meet on Saturday, November 7. A Tennessee win would shake up the SEC picture and push the Volunteers up the list.
The unbeaten watch: Miami, Utah, and UCLA are the only undefeated teams in the top 25. Every week they survive adds to their case for a top-four seed.
The bubble teams: Florida at No. 24 and Boise State at No. 25 are the last teams in. One loss could drop them out, and one big win could lift a team just outside the list into it.
College football also delivered other news this week: Florida State’s coaching change has already reshaped the ACC picture, as covered in our report on Florida State firing Mike Norvell.
How the playoff works
The College Football Playoff now has 12 teams. The five highest-ranked conference champions earn automatic bids, and the other seven spots go to at-large teams picked from the rankings. The top four teams in the final rankings earn a first-round bye.
First-round games are played on the home field of the higher-seeded team. This season, those games fall on Friday, December 18, and Saturday, December 19. The rankings will be updated every Tuesday through December 1, with the final field announced on Selection Sunday, December 6.
What happens next
The second rankings arrive next Tuesday, November 10. Between now and then, every ranked team that loses will give the committee a reason to move it down, and every unranked team that pulls off an upset will make a case to move in.
That is what makes the first rankings fun: they are not the end of the argument. They are the start of it. Miami is No. 1 today, but the Hurricanes still have to finish the job — and Georgia, Utah, Indiana, and Alabama are all close enough to take the top spot if Miami slips.
Sources: College Football Playoff selection committee official rankings (collegefootballplayoff.com/rankings); USA Today live coverage of the first rankings release; NCAA.com 2026-27 rankings release schedule; 247Sports and Sports Illustrated reports on the November 3 reveal.
