Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M and Alabama took the top four spots in the first College Football Playoff rankings of the season released Tuesday night.
The 12-member selection committee, armed with a new “record strength” metric intended to emphasize quality of competition, produced an initial top 25 that included Notre Dame at No. 10, eight spots ahead of Miami at No. 18, six SEC teams ranked 12th or better and two Big 12 teams in the top eight.
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For the second straight year the top two teams in the season’s first CFP rankings are from the Big Ten. In 2024 it was Oregon and Ohio State at No. 1 and 2. The Ducks held on to their spot and went into the first 12-team CFP as the No. 1 seed before being beaten in the quarterfinals by the eventual national champion Buckeyes at the Rose Bowl.
Two more SEC teams follow in No. 5 Georgia and No. 6 Ole Miss, followed by Big 12 rivals BYU at No. 7 and Texas Tech at No. 8. No. 9 Oregon gives the Big Ten three teams in the top 10.
Selection committee chairman Mack Rhoades, who is Baylor’s athletic director, said on ESPN that the record strength metric played into Oregon’s ranking.
“When you look at (the Ducks) in the top 10, our lowest ranked in terms of record strength,” Rhoades said.
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