The penultimate College Football Playoff rankings were released on Tuesday, Dec. 2. A little shake-up in the top spots with Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia and Texas Tech as the new four.
Texas A&M fell out of the top four from last week's rankings, suffering its first loss to Texas, 27-17.
Ohio State and Indiana remain firm in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions, respectively, each with a perfect 12-0 regular season record. The two teams will meet in Lucas Oil Stadium for the Big Ten championship.
Georgia slides up to No. 3 in place of the Aggies after beating Georgia Tech in Atlanta 16-9 to end the season with just one loss. The Bulldogs will not only get a chance to avenge that loss against Alabama in the SEC championship, but they won't have to move venues and will be back in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday.
Texas Tech is new to the top four this week after thwarting West Virginia, 49-0, and will have a big test against No. 11 BYU in Arlington, Texas, for the Big 12 championship.
Here is everything you need to know about the fifth College Football Playoff rankings of 2025.
Fifth College Football Playoff selection committee top 25 rankings
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD | PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | 12-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Indiana | 12-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Georgia | 11-1 | 4 |
| 4 | Texas Tech | 11-1 | 5 |
| 5 | Oregon | 11-1 | 6 |
| 6 | Ole Miss | 11-1 | 7 |
| 7 | Texas A&M | 11-1 | 3 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 10-2 | 8 |
| 9 | Alabama | 10-2 | 10 |
| 10 | Notre Dame | 10-2 | 9 |
| 11 | BYU | 11-1 | 11 |
| 12 | Miami (FL) | 10-2 | 12 |
| 13 | Texas | 9-3 | 16 |
| 14 | Vanderbilt | 10-2 | 14 |
| 15 | Utah | 10-2 | 13 |
| 16 | Southern Cal | 9-3 | 17 |
| 17 | Virginia | 10-2 | 18 |
| 18 | Arizona | 9-3 | 25 |
| 19 | Michigan | 9-3 | 14 |
| 20 | Tulane | 10-2 | 24 |
| 21 | Houston | 9-3 | NR |
| 22 | Georgia Tech | 9-3 | 23 |
| 23 | Iowa | 8-4 | NR |
| 24 | North Texas | 11-1 | NR |
| 25 | James Madison | 11-1 | NR |
CFP🏆: College Football Playoff rankings release schedule
What the 12-team bracket could look like
First-round matchups:
- No. 12 fifth highest fifth-highest-ranked conference champion (currently Tulane) at No. 5 Oregon
- Winner vs. No. 4 Texas Tech in the quarterfinals
- No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma
- Winner vs. No. 1 Ohio State in the quarterfinals
- No. 11 fourth-highest-ranked conference champion (currently Virginia) at No. 6 Ole Miss
- Winner vs. No. 3 Georgia in the quarterfinals
- No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Texas A&M
- Winner vs. No. 2 Indiana in the quarterfinals
The 12-team CFP field will include the five highest-ranked conference champions, who receive automatic bids. The seven highest-ranked teams remaining will round out the 12-team bracket.
As of the fourth CFP rankings, Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia and Texas Tech would be the top four seeds and would have a first-round bye. Seeds 5-12 will play each other in the first round, with the higher-seeded teams hosting at campus sites.
Currently, the highest-ranked ACC team in the CFP rankings is Virginia. Assuming the Cavaliers win the ACC championship, they would earn an automatic bid and would be the No. 11 seed in the CFP. The next highest-ranked projected conference champion is No. 20 Tulane, so the Green Wave is currently projected as the No. 12 seed in the bracket. Following this projection, No. 11 BYU and No. 12 Miami would be the first two teams out of the bracket.
