After a hectic weekend of college football, the Ohio State Buckeyes sit high on top of the third edition of the 2025 College Football Playoff Rankings. Head coach Ryan Day and his squad are exactly where they are supposed to be at No. 1, along with the No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers who stayed put.

However, controversy swirls around spots three through 12.

#3 Texas A&M Aggies

A&M needed a miracle on Saturday to beat the South Carolina Gamecocks inside Kyle Field.

The top SEC team played a nightmare of a first half that was riddled with mistakes. This included three turnovers that should have probably been five or six, along with two missed field goals. The Aggies dug themselves a massive hole that they needed perfection to climb out of, and they got it.

Trailing 30-3, they came out in the second half on fire and climbed all the way back for the win. Texas A&M probably deserved to remain in the top-four, but they are flirting with disaster.

#4 Georgia Bulldogs

For the Alabama Crimson Tide, the program too a massive fall out of the top-four to make way for its bitter rival, the Georgia Bulldogs.

Georgia dismantled the Texas Longhorns on Saturday Night and emphatically stamped their name in the conversation to have a first-round bye. Could they have climbed all the way to the No. 3 seed? They probably have an argument for it, but their lone loss to the Crimson Tide in early September will prevent them from leapfrogging the Aggies, for now.

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#5 Texas Tech Red Raiders

Looking at the Big 12 Conference, the Texas Tech Red Raiders are killing everyone.

The lone blemish on their record is a loss to Arizona State when they were down their quarterback. Outside of the lose, the Red Raiders have two wins over top-16 ranked opponents by more than 20 points, and they haven't played a game closer than 22 points with the exception of their loss to Arizona State.

Do they have a legit argument to be in the top-4 and get the first round bye? Are they being punished for being in the Big 12, or are they actually in the best possible spot?

#6 Ole Miss Rebels

Let's get weird!

The Ole Miss Rebels check in at No. 6, and this checks the box for me. Head coach Lane Kiffin's squad has played in several close games, but have managed to win. The program's lone loss to Georgia will prevent them from jumping the Bulldogs, but looking at their schedule, are they too high? 

• Kentucky - 7 point win
• Arkansas - 6 point win
• (then) #4 LSU - 5 point win
• Washington State - 3 point win
• #13 Oklahoma - 8 point win
• Florida - 10 point win

Not exactly a murderers row of opponents, which poses the question: is No. 6 too high for Ole Miss? What would that spread look like if they played Notre Dame today on a neutral field?

#7 Oregon Ducks

It feels like head coach Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks are a wounded animal right now.

The newest member of the Big 10 Conference got beat on their home turf by the Indiana Hoosiers, and have played in several close games since then. This includes a 14 point win over Wisconsin and a 2 point win over Iowa. The Ducks have a do-or-die game on Saturday against USC that they absolutely must win. 

Hopefully they put the Pac-12 logo back on the field on Saturday.

#8 Oklahoma Sooners

The leader of the two-loss brigade checks in at No. 8, as the Oklahoma Sooners are coming off their biggest win in recent program history.

In Week 12, the program beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday night in a must-win game for them. Had they fallen to three losses, they would have been on the outside with no chance of climbing back into the playoff picture.

It is very clear that the committee weighs their loss to Texas without John Mateer much less than how they weighed Texas Tech's quarterback-less loss. Their record masks the fact that each week they are in a battle. Saturday was a really nice win, but No. 8 feels too high for the Sooners.

#9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish

If this Notre Dame Fighting Irish team had a field goal kicker, they would likely be the No. 2 or No. 3 team in the country. And if I were 6-foot-5, I would have played Division 1 Football.

The reality is that ND's kicking situation is a major issue, and I was a D3 quarterback. This makes Notre Dame the most fascinating team in college football, as they have two of the toughest losses of the season and are playing high-level football. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish are one of the four teams that could challenge Ohio State, and there is a very likely chance that they should be left out of the Playoff.

#`10 Alabama Crimson Tide

Big tree falls hard. The Tide were staring down a first-round bye until the Sooners rolled into town.

Alabama thoroughly outplayed Oklahoma, but mistakes bit them and cost them a win. The loss didn't totally destroy their chances of reaching the playoffs. They stay in the Top-12 for now, however, the Crimson Tide must look the part to get the benefit of the doubt in their final two regular-season games.

#11 Miami Hurricanes

This is where things begin shake up in this edition of the playoff rankings.

The most recent rankings have Miami in, but the only way that happens is if they win the ACC, which is growing more and more unlikely as the progress through the regular season. Miami has two of the worst losses of the year to Louisville and SMU, but they beat Notre Dame head to head. The matchups have to matter, right? If Miami doesn't win the ACC, can they be left out while Notre Dame makes it in?

#12 Tulane Green Wave

Tulane is currently in a fascinating situation.

This final spot is going to be tough to decipher because this should very clearly be the James Madison Dukes, but the Green Wave gets the nod. Why? I'm unsure, but that was the way that things shook out.

The other question is, are we forcing a Group of Five team into the Playoff? The hypothetical lines came out for Round One, and Tulane was a three-touchdown underdog to Texas Tech. Is the participation trophy actually worth it, or are we forcing something that is unnecessary?

The result of this conversation is that the 12 Team Playoff is fantastic. It isn't perfect, but this is 12, well, at least 11 really good football teams that will create some very good matchups throughout.