College Football Playoff Rankings: Ohio State opens at No. 1 over Indiana as Big Ten, SEC dominate top five

The first edition of the College Football Playoff Rankings was released Tuesday night with undefeated Ohio State opening at No. 1 ahead of Indiana. Just over a month remains until the final College Football Playoff bracket is selected, so OSU will need to hold off not only the Hoosiers but the rest of the top 25 if it aims to retain the top seed in the postseason.

Off to a dominant start this year with wins over Texas and Illinois, the reigning national champion Buckeyes are seeking their seventh playoff appearance in 12 years of the postseason bracket's existence (2014, 2016, 2019-20, 2022, 2024).

Eight of the 11 teams ranked No. 1 in a season's initial CFP Rankings ultimately reached the playoff, an effort now made easier with the expanded 12-team field being contested for a second season.

Ohio State is in a strong position to go wire to wire, standing 8-0 (5-0 Big Ten) with only one game remaining against a ranked opponent, its regular-season finale at Michigan. It will be going toe to toe atop the Big Ten with undefeated Indiana, a team whose final three opponents are a combined 7-18 on the season, 0-16 in Big Ten play.

Texas A&M, Alabama and Georgia round out the rest of the top five.

There was not a Group of Five program ranked in Tuesday's release. With the 12-team playoff model granting automatic bids to the five highest-ranked conference champions, the CFP Selection Committee would choose a team to take the final bid should one not otherwise be listed in the final CFP Rankings. Memphis of the American presently holds that position, according to the committee.

College Football Playoff Rankings, Nov. 4

~ First-round bye | Only 11 teams in the rankings below would make the projected playoff as a Group of Five team -- the fifth automatic bid as a conference champion (Memphis) -- is not listed.

1. Ohio State (8-0) ~
2. Indiana (9-0) ~
3. Texas A&M (8-0) ~
4. Alabama (7-1) ~
5. Georgia (7-1)
6. Ole Miss (8-1)
7. BYU (8-0)
8. Texas Tech (8-1)
9. Oregon (7-1)
10. Notre Dame (6-2)
11. Texas (7-2)
12. Oklahoma (7-2)
13. Utah (7-2)
14. Virginia (8-1) -- No. 11 seed
15. Louisville (7-1)
16. Vanderbilt (7-2)
17. Georgia Tech (8-1)
18. Miami (FL) (6-2)
19. USC (6-2)
20. Iowa (6-2)
21. Michigan (7-2)
22. Missouri (6-2)
23. Washington (6-2)
24. Pittsburgh (7-2)
25. Tennessee (6-3)

College Football Playoff Rankings reaction: Red River rivals Texas, Oklahoma sit in prime spoiler territory

Shehan Jeyarajah

Analysis by bowl expert Brad Crawford

New metrics at work

The selection committee made it clear Tuesday that they're placing greater emphasis on wins over quality opponents this season while minimizing the reward for beating teams with sub-.500 records. This is the goal of the playoff's new "record strength" metric, which is designed to go beyond overall records and provide deeper reasoning for where teams are slotted and why. Essentially, record strength is how well an average top 25 team plays against their schedule compared to others. No arguments here for the teams in the Nos. 1 and 2 spots -- Ohio State and Indiana. Based on eye test, both of those teams look like college football's two titans through Week 10.

Drama brewing in ACC?

Surprise, surprise in the ACC. No. 14 Virginia (8-1) and No. 15 Louisville (7-1) being ranked ahead of Georgia Tech (8-1) and Miami (6-2) was stunning given the Hurricanes' handful of notable, early season wins. Neither the Yellow Jackets nor Hurricanes are viewed as two of college football's elite in the eyes of the selection committee, at least not at the moment. That will change if Georgia Tech wins out and takes a rivalry weekend matchup with Georgia, but for now, Saturday's loss to NC State clearly damaged their stock in this first poll. No team Georgia Tech has beaten this season is ranked, and the only wins against FBS teams with winning records have come against Temple, Wake Forest and Duke. 

Miami fumbles early leg up

Selection committee protocol states "when circumstances at the margins indicate that teams are comparable," then head-to-head is part of the criteria that must be taken into consideration. However, it's obvious No. 18 Miami is not viewed on the same pedestal as 10th-ranked Notre Dame despite beating the Fighting Irish in the season opener, which eliminates that head-to-head notion. If Notre Dame wins out, that means the Fighting Irish would be riding a 10-game winning streak into the postseason with added quality victories against Navy and Pitt in November. Miami has opportunities to beat a pair of quality teams as well, the nationally ranked Panthers included, but it's not going to matter for the Hurricanes with three ACC teams ahead of them. When teams are comparable, strength of schedule and comparative outcomes of common opponents are two factors to watch during final deliberations. Unfortunately for Miami, this selection committee has already KO'd Mario Cristobal's team.

Texas A&M in a good spot

In the SEC, the selection committee appreciates unblemished Texas A&M. The Aggies' strength of schedule is outside the top 10, while the overall toughness of Alabama's slate sits at No. 4. The Aggies have three wins over teams with winning records -- Notre Dame, LSU and Mississippi State -- while the Crimson Tide have four. Texas A&M's not in danger of falling behind Alabama in these CFP Rankings should both teams win out and meet in Atlanta for the SEC championship given what's left for the Aggies -- two games against ranked teams along with South Carolina and Samford.

Remember the committee's subjective factor

What goes on behind the scenes with the process is not public, only the rankings, along with a few details here and there from playoff chair Mack Rhoades during weekly television appearances justifying the poll. This might explain why one-loss Oregon is ranked No. 9 and behind fellow one-loss teams Ole Miss, Texas Tech and others. Oregon has only one win over an opponent with a winning record (Northwestern). Then-No. 3 Penn State tanked after losing to Oregon in double-overtime at home, but that victory has lost most -- if not all -- of its luster. To the Ducks' credit, they do sit fourth in game control and eighth in strength of record, meaning they've taken care of business as expected outside of the loss to Indiana on Oct. 11.