The first official College Football Playoff ranking is here, essentially superceding the AP Poll for the rest of the year. For 10 weeks, the AP Poll let teams know where they stood, but they had no idea if the committee would feel the same. Now and for the rest of the season, teams will know for certain whether or not they’re going to make the playoffs or not, and what they might need to do or have happen. Here’s what we learned from the first official release.
First College Football Playoff ranking reveals surprises
The AP Poll is more or less about wins and losses. If you win, you’ll probably move up. If you lose, you’ll most likely move down. Who you beat or lose to does matter a little, but not as much. With the CFP committee, how you play, who you play, and more all play a factor in where a team ultimately ends up.
Some teams can have vastly different rankings in the two systems, and unfortunately, only one truly matters. In the first release, there are a few teams that changed spots dramatically, which we’ll get to later on.
Here’s the first College Football Playoff Ranking in 2025:
Ohio State
Indiana
Texas A&M
Alabama
Georgia
Ole Miss
BYU
Texas Tech
Oregon
Notre Dame
Texas
Oklahoma
Utah
Virginia
Louisville
Vanderbilt
Georgia Tech
Miami
USC
Iowa
Michigan
Missouri
Washington
Pittsburgh
Tennessee
And here is the AP CFB Poll:
Ohio State
Indiana
Texas A&M
Alabama
Georgia
Oregon
Ole Miss
BYU
Texas Tech
Notre Dame
Oklahoma
Virginia
Texas
Louisville
Vanderbilt
Georgia Tech
Utah
Miami
Missouri
USC
Michigan
Memphis
Tennessee
Washington
Cincinnati
On first glance, the back ends of these lists differ wildly. 20-25 features only a couple of similar teams between the two ranks. That could be hugely significant as the season progresses, because the rankings are heavily impacted by where you begin. For example, if Pittsburgh goes on a run, they’ll land higher in the CFP ranking and potentially make the playoffs because they’re 24th now instead of unranked.
The top 12, though, is ultimately what matters. Those teams make the College Football Playoff. The rest is inconsequential, and the two top 12s are pretty similar. They’re identical one through five, but then things begin to differ. The exact seeding doesn’t matter much, so Oregon doesn’t need to feel too upset about dropping from sixth (AP) to ninth (CFP).
But those who are in on one and out on the other should feel relief or frustration. For example, Texas has to be so thrilled that its win over Vanderbilt pushed the team in. They’re 11th in CFP and 13th in AP, which would be the first team out.
Virginia is probably upset that they moved to 12th in the AP Poll but are 14th in the committee’s eyes. These differences are notable for this week only, since this is the first week, but from now on, teams will need to act according to the College Football Playoff rank. They’ll need to win convincingly if they want to move up, and they must also avoid bad wins or bad losses, too.
Things change on a week-to-week basis, and it’s good that everyone now has a point of reference. Next week, the CFP ranking will change again, and teams will have an even better understanding of where they are. The final reveal that cements the field always has some surprises in the back end, but teams can go into that feeling at least semi-confident that they know where they’ll stand. It’s always fascinating to see it play out, and it begins with last night’s official revelation.
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