ATHENS - Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs got their first College Football Playoff ranking Tuesday night, and it was not a surprise.
The rest of the rankings were odd, however.
As expected, undefeated Miami was ranked No. 1, and the Bulldogs were selected at No. 2. Undefeated Utah was at No. 3, but after that was when all hell broke loose. One-loss Indiana, which has been on the verge of losing consistently since early October, was ranked No. 4.
The Hoosiers lost to Ohio State, but have narrow or overtime victories over unranked Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern and Minnesota. Alabama checked in at No. 5 - one spot over No. 6 Kentucky, but eight spots in front of Tennessee.
The Cats and Vols play this weekend, but Tennessee slammed Bama by 16 points in October. The Vols and Tide have the same record, so the reasoning of the CFP committee has to be questioned on that one. The Big Ten’s only undefeated team - UCLA - is behind two two-loss SEC teams (Alabama and Texas).
It all adds up to what will be a sprint to the finish of the season in a month with monumental showdowns that start this week with three top-11 matchups - No. 1 Miami at No. 11 Notre Dame (-5.5); No. 2 Georgia at No. 10 Ole Miss (+3.5); and No 9 BYU at No. 3 Utah (-6.5).
The Irish are narrowly in the field as it stands right now, but a loss to Miami this weekend could shove them out of the CFP in favor of Ohio State or Tennessee. The Vols showdown with the Cats (+6.5) is a critical game this weekend.
Georgia’s showdown at Ole Miss could all but lock them in the CFP, but it is hard to know if a committee that has such wide variances on teams can be trusted to make the right call in the end.
2026 College Football Playoff Rankings - Week One - November 2, 2026
1. Miami
2. Georgia
3. Utah
4. Indiana
5. Alabama
6. Kentucky
7. Texas
8. UCLA
9. BYU
10. Ole Miss
11. Notre Dame
12. Ohio State
13. Tennessee
14. LSU
15. Texas Tech
16. Wake Forest
17. Houston
18. Missouri
19. Iowa
20. USC
21. South Carolina
22. Arizona
23. Oregon
24. Florida
25. Boise State
