Ohio St. Tops First College Football Playoff Rankings of 2025

by Jake Lax, November 06, 2025

Source: AP Photo

#1 Ohio St. (8-0)

The first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings was announced on Tuesday night following week 10 of the season. The number 1 seed was none other than the defending champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes have been ranked number 1 in the AP Poll since their week 1 victory over the Texas Longhorns. They’ve continued to dominate all season, and the only real challenge they’ll have left in the regular season is against the Michigan Wolverines in “The Game”. As long as Ohio State doesn’t lose that game, they should at the very least find themselves with a first-round bye in the final rankings.

#2 Indiana (9-0)

The number 2 seed was none other than the Indiana Hoosiers. Since taking over as head coach, Curt Cignetti has gone 20-2 through his first two years at Indiana, only losing to the two teams that played in last year’s National Championship. The Hoosiers are legit and have shown it this year by destroying every team they play. The biggest win of the season was on the road against Oregon, which was ranked 3rd in the country at the time. With 3 games to go in the regular season, IU is sitting at 9-0 and has a very good chance to finish undefeated to set up a date with Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game, in a game that should decide the number 1 overall seed.

#3 Texas A&M (8-0)

At number 3 is Texas A&M, which is also one of the 4 unbeaten teams left in college football. They’ve been dominant all season long, winning in Notre Dame and just recently at Death Valley in LSU. Quarterback Marcel Reed has made clutch plays all season to put them in this position with hopes of winning the SEC title. The Aggies don’t have an easy road the rest of the way, though; they’ll take on Missouri and Texas on the road, in two tough matchups that can easily affect their final position.

#4 Alabama (7-1)

The Crimson Tide comes in at number 4, which would receive the final bye of the first round. With their only loss coming on the season opener against FSU, Alabama has won 7 straight against some of the country’s toughest opponents. With wins over Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Tennessee, the Alabama resume looks very legit. The remaining schedule for Alabama will include LSU, Oklahoma, Eastern Illinois, and Auburn. All games that seem very winnable for head coach Kalen DeBoer and his guys.

#5 Georgia (7-1)

Georgia is currently ranked 5th, largely due to the loss they suffered against Alabama earlier in the season. The Bulldogs have been fighting in every game in the tough SEC conference, not blowing out their opponents, but showing resilience by coming out on top. As it stands right now, if Georgia ended as the 5th seed, they’d play #12 Memphis. If they win, the Bulldogs would get another chance at the Tide in the quarterfinals.

#6 Ole Miss (8-1)

Ole Miss is the 4th straight SEC team following the 2 Big Ten teams at the top, and the Rebels come in ranked as 6th. Ole Miss jumps the playoff rankings from the AP Top 25, as they’re currently ranked 7th behind Oregon there. Lane Kiffin and the Rebels have a friendly schedule moving forward with only 3 games left against The Citadel, Florida, and Mississippi St.

#7 BYU (8-0)

The first representative of the Big Twelve is the BYU Cougars, coming in at 7th. BYU is the final unbeaten team along with Ohio St, Indiana, and Texas A&M. While their schedule isn’t as hard as the teams in front of them, no one can deny a W. The Cougars’ biggest matchup of the season will be this Saturday as they take on the team right behind them, Texas Tech.

#8 Texas Tech (8-1)

The 8th seed is the second of two Big Twelve teams, the Red Raiders. Texas Tech has averaged the 5th-best total yards per game in the country at 492 YDS/G. Their offense looks great against just about every opponent. The only loss on the Red Raiders’ resume comes from Arizona State on the road. The matchup this Saturday against BYU will most likely keep one of these teams in the playoff and the other on the outside looking in.

#9 Oregon (7-1)

The last of the Big Ten Teams comes in at the 9th seed, the Oregon Ducks. The only loss of the season for Oregon came against Indiana. The win against Penn State looked a lot better at the time, only to find out it’s been a dumpster fire of a year for Penn State. Ducks Quarterback Dante Moore has looked great this season and hopes that Oregon can squeeze out 4 more wins. The Ducks will play Iowa, Minnesota, USC, and Washington to close out the regular season.

#10 Notre Dame (6-2)

The only two-loss team in the playoff bracket right now is Notre Dame, which is the 10th seed. The Fighting Irish’s losses came in the first two games of the season, where they lost to Miami and Texas A&M by a combined score of 4 points. Notre Dame has dominated since then; however, they haven’t played a whole lot of competition outside of USC and the early season losses. Head Coach Marcus Freeman knows they need to win out to stay in the playoff, with an easy 4 games to go Notre Dame should be in barring an upset.

#11 Virginia (8-1)

The top team in the ACC is the Virginia Cavaliers, who are the 11th seed in the bracket, but the 14th seed overall. Virginia has put together a good season, with a big win against FSU earlier in the schedule. The only loss for the Cavaliers came against NC State on the road. With Miami effectively knocked out of the playoffs, the ACC will either be between Virgina, Louisville, and Georgia Tech. One of the three will be playing in the playoff as the likely 11th seed, while the others will be out.

#12 Memphis (8-1)

The final team in the bracket is the Memphis Tigers, who are the 12th and final seed. Memphis makes it here at the highest ranked leader in a group of 5 conferences. While they weren’t even ranked in the top 25 of the College Football Playoff Rankings, they’ll get a game regardless, if they remain at the top of the group of 5. This comes after they dropped off South Florida two weeks ago, in an exciting 34-31 victory. The Tigers have 3 more games to go, and 3 wins will get them into the playoff for sure.