CFP rankings live updates, highlights for fifth top 25 reveal

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As expected, the fifth unveiling of the College Football Playoff top 25 rankings brought some shakeup.

The CFP selection committee officially bumped Georgia (No. 3 in College Football Playoff rankings) and Texas Tech (No. 4 in CFP rankings) up to round top four in the penultimate rankings, which were released on Tuesday, Dec. 2, with No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana following Texas A&M’s Week 14 loss to Texas.

The committee also did not penalize Ole Miss’ spot in the rankings following Lane Kiffin’s departure for LSU. In fact, because of the shakeup in the top seven, the Rebels moved up to No. 6 in the CFP top 25 rankings following their Egg Bowl win over Mississippi State.

REQUIRED READING: CFP bracket: 12-team field in new College Football Playoff rankings

The committee also provided some answers to what the bubble looks like going into conference championship weekend, with a change coming at the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds.

Following its near-upset in the Iron Bowl, Alabama was moved up to No. 9 while Notre Dame fell to No. 10. The Irish’s ranking at No. 10 is very interesting with BYU staying ahead of Miami in the top 25 at No. 11, as a win for the Cougars in the Big 12 championship game against Texas Tech could make the Big 12 a two-bid league and could knock Notre Dame out.

The ACC representative, either Virginia (No. 17 in CFP rankings) and or five-loss Duke, and the Group of Five representative, likely Tulane (No. 20 in CFP rankings) or North Texas (No. 24 in CFP rankings) will be slotted in at the No. 11 and No. 12 seeds.

USA TODAY Sports provided live updates as the bracket was revealed on Dec. 2. Follow below:

This section has been updated with new information

1. Ohio State *
2. Indiana
3. Georgia *
4. Texas Tech *
5. Oregon
6. Ole Miss
7. Texas A&M
8. Oklahoma
9. Alabama
10. Notre Dame
11. Virginia (assuming ACC championship game win)
12. Tulane (assuming American Conference championship game win)

Here’s what the CFP top 25 looks like after Week 14:

1. Ohio State (12-0)
2. Indiana (12-0)
3. Georgia (11-1)
4. Texas Tech (11-1)
5. Oregon (11-1)
6. Ole Miss (11-1)
7. Texas A&M (11-1)
8. Oklahoma (10-2)
9. Alabama (10-2)
10. Notre Dame (10-2)
11. BYU (11-1)
12. Miami (10-2)
13. Texas (9-3)
14. Vanderbilt (10-2)
15. Utah (10-2)
16. USC (9-3)
17. Virginia (10-2)
18. Arizona (9-3)
19. Michigan (9-3)
20. Tulane (10-2)
21. Houston (9-3)
22. Georgia Tech (9-3)
23. Iowa (8-4)
24. North Texas (11-1)
25. James Madison (11-1)

REQUIRED READING: CFP bracket: 12-team field in new College Football Playoff rankings

Here’s a look at how the CFP first-round and quarterfinal matchups would look like after Week 14’s rankings release:

College Football Playoff first round matchups

• No. 12 Tulane vs. No. 5 Oregon
• No. 11 Virginia vs. No. 6 Ole Miss
• No. 10 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Texas A&M
• No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 8 Oklahoma
• Byes: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas Tech

Note: Virginia and Tulane are penciled in at No. 11 and No. 12 seeds, respectively, assuming they win the ACC and American Conference championship games as the highest rated seeds outside the top-12.

College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchups

• No. 4 Texas Tech vs. Winner of No. 5 Oregon/No. 12 Texas Tech
• No. 1 Ohio State vs. Winner of No. 8 Oklahoma/No. 9 Alabama
• No. 3 Georgia vs. Winner of No. 6 Ole Miss/No. 11 Virginia
• No. 2 Indiana vs. Winner of No. 7 Texas A&M/No. 10 Notre Dame

What made the CFP selection committee make a change at the final two at-large seeds, i.e. No. 9 and No. 10, with Alabama moving ahead of Notre Dame when the Crimson Tide nearly lost in the Iron Bowl against Auburn and the Fighting Irish had a 29-point win at Stanford?

Here’s what CFP selection committee chair Hunter Yurachek said on that:

“The debate between Alabama and Notre Dame over the past three weeks has been one of the strongest debates we’ve had in the room for the past two years that I’ve been a member of the committee. I think this week as we looked at those two teams and how closely they have been over the past three weeks, Notre Dame went on the road, had a strong win at Stanford, but Alabama went on the road and a rivalry game looked really good, especially in the first half, getting up 17 to nothing. Ran the ball well. Auburn came back at them. They had a great gutsy call on 4th-and-2, late in the (fourth) quarter to get a touchdown, and then got the turnover late in that game. And I think that was enough to change the minds of a couple of committee members to push Alabama up ahead of Notre Dame in this week’s rankings,” Yurachek said on ESPN.

BYU, Miami left out of CFP bracket after Week 14

With the fourth- and fifth-highest ranked champions being penciled in at No. 11 and No. 12, as they will be ranked outside of the top 12 in the CFP top 25 rankings, BYU (No. 11 in CFP rankings) and Miami (No. 12 in CFP rankings) were the first and second teams out of the field, respectively, from the Dec. 2 rankings.

The Cougars could sneak into the field as a “bid stealer” with a win in the Big 12 championship game, as Texas Tech is well-positioned to make the CFP at 11-1.

The fifth unveiling of the CFP top 25 rankings is 10 minutes away on ESPN. Streaming options for all CFP rankings release shows include the ESPN app (with a TV login) and Fubo, which carries the ESPN family of networks and offers a free trial to new subscribers.

Here’s a look at CFP projected rankings for this week and final bracket predictions from experts from USA TODAY Sports:

Rankings predictions from Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY:

1. Ohio State
2. Indiana
3. Georgia
4. Texas Tech
5. Oregon
6. Texas A&M
7. Mississippi
8. Oklahoma
9. Notre Dame
10. Alabama
11. BYU
12. Miami

Final bracket predictions from John Leuzzi, USA TODAY Network:

1. Ohio State*
2. Indiana
3. Georgia *
4. Texas Tech *
5. Oregon
6. Ole Miss
7. Texas A&M
8. Oklahoma
9. Notre Dame
10. Alabama
11. Virginia *
12. Tulane *

* Denotes one of five highest-ranked conference champions

Here’s a look at the remaining dates when the CFP rankings will be released:

• Tuesday, Dec. 2: 7 p.m. ET
• Sunday, Dec. 7: Noon ET

Here’s a full breakdown of the 2025-26 College Football Playoff bracket schedule:

CFP first-round (On campus sites)

• Friday, Dec. 19
• Saturday, Dec. 20
  • Game 2: Noon ET
  • Game 3: 3:30 p.m. ET
  • Game 4: 7:30 p.m. ET

CFP quarterfinals

• Wednesday, Dec. 31
  • Cotton Bowl (Game 5): 7:30 p.m. ET
• Thursday, Jan. 1
  • Orange Bowl (Game 6): Noon ET
  • Rose Bowl (Game 7): 4 p.m. ET
  • Sugar Bowl (Game 8): 8 p.m. ET

CFP semifinals

• Thursday, Jan. 8
  • Fiesta Bowl (Game 9): 7:30 p.m. ET
• Friday, Jan. 9
  • Peach Bowl (Game 10): 7:30 p.m. ET

CFP championship game

• Monday, Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium (Game 11, Miami): 7:30 p.m. ET

There remain 48 days until the CFP national championship game is played on Monday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

How to watch College Football Playoff rankings release

ESPN will once again handle the broadcast of the College Football Playoff rankings reveal show. Streaming options for all CFP rankings release shows include the ESPN app (with a TV login) and Fubo, which carries the ESPN family of networks and offers a free trial to new subscribers.

Stream CFP rankings show live with Fubo (free trial)

What time does CFP rankings come out today?

• Date: Tuesday, Dec. 2
• Time: 7 p.m. ET

The fifth unveiling of the College Football Playoff top 25 rankings will be released on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. ET. It is the last CPF rankings reveal before the official Selection Sunday release on Sunday, Dec. 8.