After a wild Saturday that scrambled the top of college football, the College Football Playoff committee has a fresh mess on its hands. Last week’s rankings already drew plenty of heat, but after multiple top-10 games delivered real chaos, Tuesday night’s second reveal should look very different.
Start with Alabama and Tennessee, because that gap was one of the biggest talking points in the first rankings. The committee put a wide cushion between the teams even though Tennessee had already hammered the Crimson Tide in October.
Alabama got some support when it beat LSU at Death Valley, but Tennessee answered by blowing the doors off Kentucky. That leaves the committee with a clear question: does the gap finally shrink enough for the head-to-head result to matter?
The SEC had a chance to strengthen its grip even more. Last week, it already had five teams in the rankings, and if Ole Miss had beaten Georgia and LSU had taken down Alabama, the conference could have really stacked the deck against everyone else.
Instead, Georgia and Alabama won comfortably, which knocked Ole Miss and LSU out of playoff contention unless miracles happen. That turn of events may have opened the door a little wider for the Big 12.
And the Big 12 has a case to make. Texas Tech, which was 15th last week, picked up a thrilling win over a solid West Virginia team.
BYU, meanwhile, lost by just eight points to Utah despite turning the ball over four times. The Cougars’ win over Notre Dame also looks even better now after the Fighting Irish beat No.
1 Miami. With that kind of weekend, the Big 12 could land three teams in this week’s rankings.
Notre Dame is almost certain to climb after what it did against Miami. The committee basically handed the Irish a CFP ultimatum by placing them 11th last week, and they responded with a signature win.
But the game wasn’t clean from start to finish. Notre Dame jumped out to a 17-3 halftime lead, then watched Miami outscore it 21-14 in the second half before the Hurricanes fell just short of a comeback.
Miami also has another wrinkle to deal with: star receiver and Heisman Trophy candidate Malachi Toney is out for the rest of the regular season because of injury, and that could affect how the committee views both teams.
There’s also the quarterback issue, which the committee may have to explain again. Ohio State appeared to take a hit for not having starting quarterback Julian Sayin against USC, a situation that brought back memories of the Florida State-Jordan Travis snub.
But the committee may have to live with the fact that this line of thinking cuts both ways. Wake Forest and Boise State both won convincingly with backup quarterbacks, and that should work in their favor when the rankings are updated.
Whether it actually does is another matter.
Then there’s UCLA, one of only three undefeated teams last week, which still got treated like an afterthought by the committee. The Bruins were slotted eighth, well behind Miami at No. 1 and Utah at No.
- Now that two teams ahead of UCLA lost, including Miami, the Bruins are set to move up.
The most interesting comparison may come within the Big Ten. UCLA beat Minnesota by 14 on the road.
Indiana beat the Golden Gophers by seven at home in overtime. If the committee leans on those results against a common opponent, and if Indiana’s bye week factors in, the Big Ten pecking order could shift in a meaningful way.
That’s one of the biggest things to watch when the new rankings come out.
In Other News...
Marcus Freeman's CFP Reaction Will Spark A Big Notre Dame Debate
Marcus Freeman wasted little time weighing in on the College Football Playoffs move to 24 teams starting in 2027, and his reaction was pretty easy to read from a Notre Dame perspective. Speaking after the official announcement, the Irish coach said the expanded format would benefit Notre Dame, a program that has long lived with the pressure of making its case for a postseason spot without the safety net of a conference championship game.
Freeman also made clear that the new setup wont feel like a win for everyone, but for Notre Dame it opens more doors and more chances to get in. That is exactly why his comments are likely to stir debate around the program, because the Irish have spent years navigating the tension between independence and access, and this change only sharpens the question of how the playoff should reward teams like Notre Dame. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Just Added Another Big Ten Test To Its Future Schedule
Notre Dame has filled another spot on its future calendar with a matchup that should carry plenty of weight when it arrives. The Irish have lined up a two-game home-and-home series with Washington for the 2031 and 2034 seasons, a swap that comes after a previously planned series with Florida was canceled. The first meeting will be in South Bend, with Notre Dame Stadium hosting the opener before the return game shifts to Seattle three years later.
For Notre Dame, the addition keeps the schedule lined up with the kind of high-profile nonconference tests the program has long valued. Washington brings real pedigree into the series as a current Big Ten member with a football history that includes multiple conference and national championships, which gives the matchup a little extra heft beyond the usual future scheduling announcement. The only question now is how much both programs will have changed by the time the first kickoff finally arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Has The Edge But Boston College Brings A Real Trap
Notre Dame enters this matchup with the cleaner recruiting profile and the more obvious edge in several position groups, which is why the Irish are being viewed as the more complete team on paper. The numbers behind the roster construction point in their favor, and the matchup breakdowns suggest Notre Dame should have answers if it plays to its strengths.
Boston College, though, has enough veteran experience and transfer portal help to make this feel less comfortable than the rankings might suggest. It has the look of a classic trap game, the kind that can echo a past meeting from 1993, where the favored team still has to handle a physical, older opponent that knows how to make things awkward if the favorite is even a little off. [Read more 🡒]