College Football Playoff Rankings: Alabama tumbles after close loss to Oklahoma

The latest College Football Playoff rankings saw no changes in the top three, but a big loss for the previous No. 4 team has them falling down the list.

The Alabama Crimson Tide lost a close one to the Oklahoma Sooners at home, 23-21, and it cost them in the eyes of the selection committee. They fell from No. 4 to No. 10.

Meanwhile, the Georgia Bulldogs, who had been at No. 5 in each of the first two rankings, moved into their place at No. 4.

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Head coach Brent Venables of the Oklahoma Sooners greets visitors before Bedlam against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on November 19, 2022 in Norman, Oklahoma.  The Sooners won 28-13.   (Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M remain at 1 through 3, respectively, to round out the top four, who would each receive a bye if the playoff were to start today.

It was interesting to see the Crimson Tide behind the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, though, who are at No. 9 in the rankings. Notre Dame doesn’t have any more top-25 wins this season, with Alabama collecting four to just one.

Texas Tech moved to No. 5, followed by Ole Miss, Oregon and Oklahoma, which moved up to the No. 8 slot following its big road victory in Tuscaloosa.

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Looking past the top 10, BYU is at No. 11, followed by Utah, Miami, Vanderbilt and USC to round out the top 15. The Hurricanes specifically had a big weekend, defeating NC State 41-7 to help them jump up two spots in the rankings.

Of course, with both Miami and Notre Dame at 8-2 overall, the Hurricanes and their fan base are surely not happy they remain four spots behind the Fighting Irish, considering they beat them earlier this season.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman greets a player before the Orange Bowl NCAA College Football Playoff semifinal game against Penn State, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Miami Gardens, Fla.  (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

“The No. 1 criteria is always head-to-head. It’s why we play the game, right?” Miami head coach Mario Cristobal said, via ESPN. “That always has been and always will be the No. 1 factor.”

However, on the other side of the argument is how the Hurricanes got their two losses compared to Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish lost to the Hurricanes and the Texas Longhorns — both ranked teams. Miami, though, was upset by unranked Louisville and SMU this season.

Speaking of the Longhorns, they moved to No. 17 following their lopsided loss to Georgia, 35-10, which pushed them to 7-3 on the year. Georgia Tech is just in front of them at No. 16, while Michigan (18), Virginia (19) and Tennessee (20) are behind them.

Rounding out the top 25 are Illinois, Missouri, Houston, Tulane and Arizona State, respectively.

Ty Simpson of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts after losing a fumble to the Oklahoma Sooners during the third quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Nov. 15, 2025 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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As always, the five highest-ranked conference champions will be in the 12-team field this playoff season. But there’s a reminder: It will be a straight seeding model, not one in which each winner of the Power Four conferences receives an automatic bye.

There are just two weeks left in the regular season, and conference championships will follow to ultimately determine how the College Football Playoff field will shake out.

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