Overview
- Ohio State topped the first 2025 College Football Playoff rankings, followed by Indiana, Texas A&M and Alabama in the top four bye positions.
- Big Ten and SEC teams dominated the top tier with Georgia at No. 5 and Ole Miss at No. 6, while BYU led the Big 12 at No. 7 and Texas Tech ranked No. 8.
- No Group of Five team made the Top 25, yet Memphis was identified as the leading G5 champion and slotted as the projected No. 12 seed under the auto-bid rule.
- Virginia ranked No. 14 as the ACC’s highest team and would be the No. 11 seed, with first-round campus games set for Dec. 19–20 under the 12-team format.
- The committee highlighted a new 'record strength' metric prioritizing quality wins, which helped Notre Dame land at No. 10 ahead of No. 18 Miami despite the Hurricanes’ head-to-head victory; weekly rankings continue until the Dec. 7 final bracket reveal.