Projected Final College Football Playoff Rankings for Sunday
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Before getting started here with what I think the final College Football Playoff Ranking will be, I am totally guessing, because the cheeky committee types have been cryptic throughout the process.
That’s fine. It’s the committee’s job to try coming up with the top 12 teams to make the best tournament possible, and it wanted to leave itself as many outs and options as it could.
But all of it has been driving fans of Miami, Notre Dame, and Alabama crazy.
I won’t be surprised at any result, and I will freely admit that the committee’s final rationale could be the total opposite when it comes to how I’m reading what they believe about Miami.
So, deep breath, here we go … my final call on who the 12 teams will be in the College Football Playoff.
(Be kind.)
What Will the Final College Football Playoff Rankings Be?
12-seed James Madison Dukes
Holy cow … they did it. Forgetting that their best win is over Washington State, and it lost its one Power Four game to Louisville by 14 – and Duke has seven wins over Power Four teams – it really is cool.
11-seed Tulane Green Wave
Okay, great. Tulane gets the 11 spot to make things a wee bit more manageable, maybe. A great season and terrific American Conference Championship win got it in, and Duke’s win over Virginia got it the 11.
Okay … here we go …
Remember, the seed and the rankings can be two different things. The call is that Miami will be the 11, BYU the 12, and …
10. Alabama Crimson Tide
Whether the College Football Playoff committee meant to do it or not, putting Alabama at 9 last week gave it a little bit of cover. The Tide will drop, but it won’t get punished too much for losing to the No. 3 team in the country. It will drop one spot, not two, so …
9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Here’s the big call.
The rankings that flipped last week – Notre Dame 9, Alabama 10, to the other way around – will simply flip back.
The College Football Playoff committee told us from jump that it liked Notre Dame way more than Miami. The Irish were tenth in the first round of CFP rankings, the Hurricanes 18, and it’s not like either team did anything to change that too much.
OF COURSE the head-to-head Miami win over Notre Dame should matter, but 1) that was baked into the rankings cake from the start, and 2) there were Miami losses to SMU and Louisville along the way.
There will be rightful, justified screaming.
8. Oklahoma Sooners
No movement here. There’s the win over Alabama, and don’t forget, the win over Michigan. There’s nothing to force any change, along with …
7. Texas A&M Aggies
Nothing changed. Texas A&M didn’t play Georgia or Alabama, so there’s not much to mess around with at the near top, including …
6. Ole Miss Rebels
There’s a chance the committee knocks Ole Miss down a bit after Lane Kiffin took his talents to Baton Rouge, but there most likely won’t be any movement. There’s a chance the Rebels move down to the 7, but certainly not up to the …
5. Oregon Ducks
There was a shot the Ducks could’ve moved into the top four had BYU upset Texas Tech, but that went bye-bye. Whatever – they’ll be favored by 145.5 against James Madison.
4. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Honestly, I spent more time trying to guess this than I did the Notre Dame/Miami/Alabama call.
There’s a chance the committee rewards the Big 12 Champion by putting it in the top three along with the Big Ten and SEC champs,
3. Georgia Bulldogs
This is seriously a coin flip. I think the committee might put the SEC Champion with better high-end wins than Ohio State has up in the two – especially after dominating Alabama – but …
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
Again, flip a coin on whether or not the committee will like the SEC Champion more than the full-season No. 1 team that just lost to the No. 2 team. It doesn’t matter that much, if at all, but that was a tough Big Ten Championship. And the top spot obviously goes to …
1. Indiana Hoosiers
There are 136 FBS college football teams, and just one finished the season unbeaten. They did it. They got through the season without a blemish, they beat Ohio State, and the Indiana freaking Hoosiers are the No. 1 team in the country.
Related: Final Bowl Projections and College Football Playoff Matchups Updated
This story was originally published by College Football News on Dec 7, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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