The second to last College Football Playoff rankings were released tonight and there was some significant movement throughout the entire rankings. Notre Dame, despite finishing the regular season 10-2 and on a 10-game winning streak, the Irish check in at No. 10 in this week's rankings falling behind the Alabama Crimson Tide who face the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship this weekend. As of right now, if the playoffs ended today, the Irish would be on the road in a rematch with Texas A&M in a rematch from week three of the regular season.
After Notre Dame's 49-20 win over Stanford on the road, they fell behind Alabama who beat a 5-7 Auburn team on the road 27-20. There was a conversation amongst the panel about this being an "overcorrection" from the Crimson Tide falling behind the Irish after their loss to Oklahoma. My biggest question: why this week? It's simple, it's to give Alabama a buffer in case they lose to Georgia in the SEC Championship.
Playoff committee chair Hunter Yurachek said that the Alabama-Notre Dame debate was some of the most heated debates that they had. His explanation was that the Crimson Tide's performance against Auburn was ultimately what vaulted the Tide above the Irish. Yurachek did go on to say that teams who are idle in this ranking, aka not playing in championship weekend, are still subject to move in the final rankings that come out on Sunday.
The most shocking move of the night is what happened with Ole Miss after their head coach Lane Kiffin accepted the LSU position. Going against what the College Football Playoff committee did with Florida State in 2023, they elected to move Ole Miss up a spot in front of Texas A&M despite heading into the post season without a head coach. If I'm the ACC, I'm shifting my attention from Notre Dame and the head to head with Miami to the committee's undying commitment to support the SEC.
Towards the bottom of the rankings, James Madison makes their entrance into the top 25 setting up a very interesting scenario if Duke wins the ACC. If Duke wins the ACC and James Madison wins the Sun Belt, there's a chance that the ACC will be without a big in the 2025 College Football Playoffs. As of right now, the Virginia Cavaliers are favored against the Blue Devils, but we'll have to wait until Saturday night for a victor to be decided.
In some other notable moves, Tennessee dropped out of the rankings for the first time this season along with SMU and Arizona State. Texas moved up to No. 13 after beating the Aggies who were the 3rd ranked team in the country last season heading into their rivalry matchup. Despite their dominant win over Tennessee, Vanderbilt remained at 14th all but solidifying their spot in the rankings.
Here are the second the last rankings for the College Football Playoffs:
1. Ohio State Buckeyes (12-0)
2. Indiana Hoosiers (12-0)
3. Georgia Bulldogs (11-1)
4. Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-1)
5. Oregon Ducks (11-1)
6. Ole Miss Rebels (11-1)
7. Texas A&M Aggies (11-1)
8. Oklahoma Sooner (10-2)
9. Alabama Crimson Tide (10-2)
10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-2)
11. BYU Cougars (11-1)
12. Miami Hurricanes (10-2)
13. Texas Longhorns (9-3)
14. Vanderbilt Commodores (10-2)
15. Utah Utes (10-2)
16. USC Trojans (9-3)
17. Virginia Cavaliers (10-2)
18. Arizona Wildcats (9-3)
19. Michigan Wolverines (9-3)
20. Tulane Green Wave (10-2)
21. Houston Cougars (9-3)
22. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-3)
23. Iowa Hawkeyes (8-4)
24. North Texas Mean Green (11-1)
25. James Madison Dukes (11-1)
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