Georgia is back on top of the College Football Playoff Rankings, and the second release of the season brought a fresh shakeup behind the Bulldogs.
The committee moved Georgia to No. 1 on Tuesday night after last week’s top team, Miami (FL), dropped following its loss to Notre Dame in one of the most anticipated games of the 2026 season. Georgia helped make the change easy to justify with a dominant road win over Ole Miss in Oxford, and the Bulldogs now sit in position to control their own path the rest of the way.
At 8-1 overall and 6-1 in the SEC, Georgia looks well on its way to the 12-team bracket unless something goes sideways over the final three weeks. Missouri, South Carolina and Georgia Tech are still on the schedule, and an SEC Championship Game appearance could still be in play. If Kirby Smart’s team keeps playing at the level it has shown in 2026, another CFP trip is right there.
Utah slid into the No. 2 spot after Georgia’s rise, giving the unbeaten Utes a major boost in Morgan Scalley’s first season at the helm following Kyle Whittingham’s departure. Utah is 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the Big 12, and it just survived its biggest test yet by beating archrival BYU in the Holy War. The next challenge comes quickly, with a road trip to Arizona up next.
Alabama climbed to No. 3 after its win over LSU, while UCLA jumped into the top four as one of the two remaining unbeaten teams in the FBS. Notre Dame, fresh off its statement win over Miami, moved up to No. 5.
The full top five on Nov. 10: Georgia, Utah, Alabama, UCLA and Notre Dame.
The rest of the top 12 features Texas at No. 6, Miami at No.
7, Tennessee at No. 8, Indiana at No.
9, BYU at No. 10, Kentucky at No. 11 and Texas Tech at No.
With the 12-team format awarding automatic bids to the five highest-ranked conference champions, Boise State would be the Group of Six representative if the field were set today. The Broncos came in at No. 24.
One of the biggest shifts came with Notre Dame, which leaped from No. 11 to No. 5 after finally landing the kind of win the committee had been waiting for. The Fighting Irish handled Miami and, in the eyes of the selection group, checked the box they had been missing.
“We talked last week that Notre Dame had a lot of respect from the committee, a dominant team, but had yet to have the signature win, and they looked like the Notre Dame team that should be ranked No. 5. They were up 24-3 (on Miami),” CFP chair Hunter Yurachek said.
Indiana took the harshest hit among the top teams, falling five spots to No. 9 despite not playing over the weekend. The committee re-ranks from scratch each week, and that reset did the Hoosiers no favors ahead of their matchup with USC.
Georgia’s move to the top was backed by the numbers as well as the result. After the win at Ole Miss, the Bulldogs sit No. 1 in game control and No. 2 in strength of record. Since the upset loss to Auburn on Oct. 17, they’ve looked every bit like a team rounding into form at the right time.
Alabama also strengthened its case with a 31-13 win at LSU. The Crimson Tide are near the top of the FBS in strength of record, strength of schedule and game control, and with Vanderbilt, Chattanooga and Auburn still ahead, the committee appears comfortable slotting them third.
Texas checked in at No. 6 and remains one of the most complete profiles in the field. The Longhorns are top-15 in every measurable metric and now own a nation-leading four ranked wins after beating Missouri on the road.
With wins over Ohio State in nonconference play and Tennessee in conference play, plus three straight victories since back-to-back losses in October, Texas has some room to breathe even if it slips again. A trip to LSU is next.
UCLA’s rise from No. 8 to No. 4 was one of the clearest signs that the committee is buying the Bruins’ resume. Their strength of record ranks first, and their game control sits ninth, though a strength of schedule at No. 67 stands out as a weak spot.
Winning out would send UCLA to the Big Ten Championship, but not necessarily guarantee a top-four seed. Illinois comes to town Friday night, and Michigan and USC remain after that.
Among the three-loss teams, Oregon leads the way after its win at Ohio State. That result pushed the Ducks ahead of the Buckeyes, who tumbled eight spots to No.
- Oregon now has three ranked wins, tied for second-most in the country behind Texas’ four.
South Carolina also moved up after holding off Texas A&M for its fourth straight win, rising to No. 17. The Gamecocks were one of the steadier movers in the back half of the rankings.
The ACC picture remains murky, but Wake Forest is the league’s highest-ranked team outside the top tier at No. 13.
The Demon Deacons face SMU on Saturday, and they are the only team ranked this week with just one win over an opponent above .500. Texas, by comparison, has a nation-leading six such wins.
Miami has four, which is the most in the ACC and more than Wake Forest, SMU and Duke combined.
In Other News...
Notre Dame's Playoff Path Just Got A Lot More Favorable
The latest College Football Playoff rankings reshuffled the top of the bracket in a way that matters well beyond the usual weekly debate. Georgia moved to No. 1, Alabama and UCLA climbed as well, and Notre Dames jump from No. 11 to No. 5 after a key win gave the Irish a much cleaner path into the field. Even the ripple effects reached Indiana, which slid from a first-round bye to a lower seed and lost the chance to host a playoff game.
There was movement elsewhere, too, with the Big 12 getting a modest boost in positioning as BYU held onto a ranking spot despite a loss. Still, the conference has yet to land an at-large CFP team in the current format, which keeps the focus on how much the bracket can still change from here. For Georgia, the top-line takeaway is simple: the Bulldogs are sitting at No. 1, but the seeding picture around them is shifting fast. [Read more 🡒]
Georgias First SEC Availability Report Leaves Key Questions For Missouri
The first SEC availability report for Georgias matchup with Missouri offered an early look at how Kirby Smarts defense and depth chart are shaping up heading into the week. Defensive lineman Joshua Horton was listed as questionable, while outside linebacker Amaris Williams was ruled out, and several other Georgia players, including Ellis Robinson and Craig Dandridge, were not listed because of injuries. Smart also provided updates on Chauncey Bowens and Tyriq Green, adding another layer to a report that already hinted at some shuffling before kickoff.
Missouri has its own injury concern to monitor, with wide receiver Cayden Lee also not listed because of a knee injury. For Georgia, the report does not settle much beyond the fact that availability could remain fluid as the game approaches, especially along the defensive front and at key depth spots. The first report rarely tells the whole story, but it did make clear that both teams still have a few important questions to answer. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Faces A New SEC Twist With Ranked Missouri Visiting
With the SEC championship game set to disappear when the College Football Playoff expands in 2027, Kirby Smart has already weighed in on one of the conferences biggest coming changes. Georgia, which is sitting atop the SEC standings, now turns its attention to a ranked Missouri team coming to Athens, a matchup that carries more than usual weight in a season where the leagues old title-game path is about to change.
Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz has made clear he has concerns about what the SEC will look like without that extra championship showcase, and his team arrives with enough talent to make the conversation feel timely. Quarterback Austin Simmons, top rusher Jamal Roberts and receiver Cayden Lee give the Tigers real offensive pieces to work with, though Lee is coming back from a knee injury and the report so far is encouraging, with no structural damage. [Read more 🡒]