Georgia Takes No. 1 Seed as CFP Rankings Shake Up Top Tier
The selection committee moved Indiana down five spots without a game, while Notre Dame passed Miami to secure the fifth seed.
By Kofi Costa ·
Georgia claimed the top seed in the second edition of the College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday. The Bulldogs moved into the No. 1 position ahead of Utah and Alabama, securing their place at the top of the 12-team bracket for this season's tournament.
Notre Dame jumped six positions to take the No. 5 seed, passing Miami in the process. The Fighting Irish earned the bump after defeating the Hurricanes on the road last weekend. Miami dropped six spots despite being a No. 1 team entering the game, a fall that selection committee chair Hunter Yurachek attributed to the Hurricanes losing without star player Malachi Toney.
Indiana suffered the steepest drop in the rankings, sliding five spots to No. 9 without playing a game. Yurachek noted that the Hoosiers were a victim of having a bye week during a period when three teams they had previously defeated suffered losses. Those wins boosted the strength of schedule for the teams that rose past Indiana, forcing the committee to adjust their standing accordingly.
UCLA climbed four spots to No. 4 after a decisive victory over Minnesota. The Bruins beat a team that had forced Indiana into overtime the previous week, a result that made them look like a top-four contender. Utah remains the only other undefeated team in the major conferences alongside UCLA.
The Southeastern Conference holds the most spots in the projected bracket with five teams. Alabama moved up to No. 3 after a 31-13 win over LSU, while Tennessee jumped to No. 8 after a 34-6 victory over Kentucky. Kentucky fell to No. 11 but remains in the field due to having the fourth-ranked strength of schedule in the country.
The bracket currently includes No. 2 Utah, No. 3 Alabama, No. 6 Texas, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 10 BYU, No. 11 Kentucky, and No. 12 Texas Tech. Boise State holds the final spot as the best team from the Group of Six. The committee will hold three more ranking shows before finalizing the bracket on December 6, the day after the final conference title games.
Teams ranked 15 through 18 remain in the conversation for the remaining spots. Iowa, Oregon, South Carolina, and USC all have games remaining that could alter their standing. USC faces Indiana on Saturday and plays UCLA on November 28, while South Carolina hosts Georgia in two weeks. Yurachek identified USC as a team to watch as the season progresses.
