The AP Top 25 and the College Football Playoff rankings rarely line up perfectly, but Week 11 made the gap impossible to miss.
That matters because the CFP board is the one that ultimately shapes the postseason picture - national seeds, home-field assignments and byes all flow from those rankings. So when the AP and the committee see the same teams differently, it is more than a cosmetic disagreement.
Alabama is one of the clearest examples. The Crimson Tide landed at No. 7 in the AP poll, but the committee pushed them all the way up to No.
- The selection group made its stance obvious, leaning hard on Alabama’s overall strength of record even after losses to Georgia and Tennessee.
AP voters were less impressed by what Alabama has shown lately, though they still weighed the close loss to Georgia, the convincing win over Kentucky that has aged well, and the dominant performance at LSU.
Notre Dame also split the two rankings, though in a different way. The Irish are No. 3 in the AP Top 25 and No. 5 in the CFP rankings.
Before last Saturday, Notre Dame had been No. 4 in the AP poll, and a four-point loss at BYU only dropped them two spots there. The committee, though, was much tougher on Notre Dame’s schedule, noting that the Irish had no wins against ranked opponents and placing them at No.
- Then came the win over No.
1 Miami, which forced a major adjustment and sent Notre Dame up seven spots in the committee’s eyes after that surge in strength of record.
Miami took a hit from both sides, but not the same one. The Hurricanes checked in at No. 5 in the AP poll and No. 7 in the CFP rankings.
The loss at Notre Dame and the injury to star wide receiver Malachi Toney were always going to hurt, but the committee had extra work to do because it also had to elevate Notre Dame and then place Miami behind the Irish. AP voters didn’t face that same balancing act, since they already had Notre Dame in the top five, so Miami’s slide on that ballot was less severe.
Indiana is another team where the committee and AP are looking at the same résumé and seeing different things. The Hoosiers are No. 6 in the AP poll, but they fell to No. 9 in the CFP rankings after sitting at No. 4 a week ago.
They didn’t even play, yet the movement around them and a fresh concern about strength of schedule changed the committee’s view. Indiana now gets a chance to answer that against USC on Saturday.
BYU’s situation is different again. Two losses - first at unranked UCF and then at undefeated, highly ranked Utah - created a tricky call for voters.
The committee kept the Cougars in the top ten at No. 10, ahead of reigning Big 12 champion Texas Tech, which is No. 12 in the CFP ranking and still outside the bubble. The AP poll, meanwhile, dropped BYU below the Red Raiders.
If Texas Tech keeps winning, that order could become a bigger issue down the line.
In Other News...
BYU Is Suddenly At The Center Of A Big 12 Playoff Push
The Big 12s playoff picture has started to look a lot different, and BYU is right in the middle of it. During a recent discussion, Josh Pate and Joel Klatt pointed to Utah, BYU and Texas Tech as teams building strong College Football Playoff cases, with the league suddenly drawing more respect for what its top contenders have done on the field.
For BYU, that matters because the conversation is no longer just about staying relevant in the conference race. The bigger question is whether the Big 12s collective resume can stack up with the nations best, and whether the league could land as many as three playoff bids. In a selection process increasingly driven by resumes rather than brand names, BYU finds itself in a spot where every week can reshape both its own path and the conferences ceiling. [Read more 🡒]
BYUs Defense Has A Turnover Problem At The Worst Time
BYUs defense has been doing plenty of the hard part this fall, getting hands on passes and forcing quarterbacks to fit the ball into tighter windows. The Cougars still lead the nation in pass breakups, but the turnover column has not followed, and the secondary has now gone five games without an interception as the 2026 season has worn on.
Injuries to Raider Damuni and Evan Johnson have thinned out the back end, and Mississippi State transfer Jayven Williams has been asked to help steady things while also adding his own pass breakups. Coaches and players know the frustration is in finishing those plays, not just contesting them, and they remain confident the interceptions will come if the defense keeps putting itself in position. [Read more 🡒]
BYU Faces A Bigger Baylor Test Than Fans Might Think
The loss to Utah was frustrating enough on its own, but it also offered a reminder that BYU can still be pulled into the kind of tight, mistake-heavy game that leaves little margin for error. Utah made the most of red-zone chances and turned four Bear Bachmeier interceptions into the difference in a 28-20 result, even as BYU stayed in the top 10 of the College Football Playoff rankings and moved on to the next challenge on the schedule.
Baylor is the kind of follow-up opponent that can make that Utah game feel even more relevant. The Bears bring a defense that deserves real attention, and BYUs offensive picture is still shaped by the impact of LJ Martins injury, which adds another layer to a game that already asks plenty of the Cougars. If BYU wants to avoid letting one loss turn into a broader wobble, this is the sort of matchup that will show whether the response is immediate or still a work in progress. [Read more 🡒]