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Michael Meredith, CBS Sports

The third edition of the College Football Playoff Rankings was released Tuesday night with undefeated Ohio State remaining No. 1 ahead of Indiana and the top 10 experiencing some key alterations. Just three weeks remain until the final College Football Playoff bracket is selected, and there is no telling what upsets may be in store for the top teams in the nation with two weeks left in the regular season.

A pair of top-tier SEC matchups created a new No. 4 team in the nation. Alabama vacated that spot amid a 23-21 home loss to Oklahoma with Georgia sliding into first-round bye position after dominating Texas, 35-10. The Sooners now sit No. 8, two spots ahead of the Crimson Tide.

No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 5 Texas Tech round out the top five.

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). Ohio State's final game against a ranked opponent comes in its regular-season finale against Michigan.

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, which is being contested for a second season.

Currently projected to meet OSU in the Big Ten Championship Game is Indiana after both teams won by double digits on Saturday. IU enjoys a late off week before playing Big Ten basement dweller Purdue in Week 14.

Miami (FL), despite being ranked No. 13, takes the 11th projected bid as the highest-rated team from the ACC. However, with the Hurricanes unlikely to play in the ACC Championship Game -- projected as Georgia Tech vs. Virginia -- they will almost assuredly need to earn a spot as an at-large team.

Tulane claims the last of the 12 playoff spots as the highest-ranked Group of Five team in Tuesday's release at No. 24. With the 12-team playoff model granting automatic bids to the five highest-ranked conference champions, the Green Wave are presently projected to win the American and grab the final spot in the field. Should a Group of Five team not make the final rankings, the CFP Selection Committee would choose which champion deserved the last bid.

College Football Playoff Rankings, Nov. 18

* First-round bye | ~ First-round host | ^ Highest-ranked Group of Five team

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

Miami's curious case

While losses to Louisville and SMU squandered Miami's chance to control its own destiny in the eyes of the committee, the good news for the Hurricanes is there's a greater chance now of reaching the bracket compared to two weeks ago. Playoff hopes dwindled after their overtime loss in Dallas to open November, and the committee's response was a No. 18 grade in their first top 25 as the ACC's fourth team behind Virginia, Louisville and Georgia Tech. All of those teams have lost at least once since, pushing the Hurricanes back out front of others in the ACC at No. 13 in Tuesday's third edition of the rankings.

Let's address the leprechaun in the room as it relates to Miami. After moving up three spots last week to No. 15, the Hurricanes pushed ahead again after their blowout win over NC State. Notre Dame handled the Wolfpack, too, but that matchup was 10-7 at halftime in South Bend. Miami held a 24-point advantage at intermission a week after NC State had given Georgia Tech its first ACC loss of the season. So, there's the common opponent perspective when comparing the two teams who each appear to be heading toward 10-2 finishes. If the Hurricanes blow out Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh -- who might not be ranked any longer depending on Saturday's result against the Yellow Jackets -- they'll still be behind the Fighting Irish in the strength of record, game control and strength of schedule metrics. Those are significant factors for the committee. 

The Hurricanes need help from an at-large standpoint unless one of two convoluted scenarios involving various other ACC outcomes results in a league championship game opportunity. The more realistic scenario is one of the three at-large, two-loss teams ahead of the Hurricanes lose another regular-season game -- looking at you, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Alabama. 

Danger zone for Alabama

From being slotted -- at worst -- on the No. 4 line with a loss in the SEC Championship Game prior to last week's defeat to Oklahoma, the 10th-ranked Crimson Tide are another turnover-filled setback at Auburn away from being outside of the playoff. That wouldn't sit well with the natives in Tuscaloosa, not after this team won eight straight games following the season-opening loss at Florida State with four of those victories coming against ranked teams in SEC play. 

There's no need to panic for Alabama, by the way. As long as mistakes are corrected, the Crimson Tide should handle their rival in the Iron Bowl. The alternative is another cataclysmic November slide that would keep Kalen DeBoer away from the national championship picture for the second straight season, which could make 2026 a contract year of sorts given the elite expectation level at Alabama.

Oregon's Big Ten predicament

Take out the Sharpie and show unbeaten Ohio State and Indiana some love. They're in. The Big Ten's third playoff entry hasn't yet materialized, however. No. 7 Oregon's in prime position with one loss and wraps up a first-round guarantee with a victory over 15th-ranked USC this weekend. If the Trojans clip the Ducks at Autzen Stadium, the chaos begins. That could set up a situation that includes three 10-2 teams inside the conference at the end of the month behind the Buckeyes and Hoosiers if Michigan takes out Ohio State on Nov. 29. If the committee did vote a fourth Big Ten squad into the bracket, Oregon would be on the outside looking in. 

The only metric in which the Ducks currently have a sizable advantage over the Trojans and Wolverines is game control. Their best win is Iowa, while USC has that same victory and would hold head-to-head edges over Oregon and Michigan and beat Nebraska away from home. Michigan's resume would sparkle with the Ohio State shocker, and one of its losses came to potential SEC invitee Oklahoma. How would the committee justify putting Oregon in over the Trojans and Wolverines if all end with the same record? They couldn't. Beating USC this weekend should bring Dan Lanning reassurance, regardless of what happens in the finale at Washington.

Four teams battling for two first-round spots

As long as Ohio State and Indiana get to Indianapolis without a loss, there's five teams battling for the other two coveted opening-round byes -- the SEC champion along with the SEC's runner-up, Texas Tech or Georgia competing for the other two coveted opening-round byes. I don't foresee 11th-ranked BYU jumping enough spots to get there -- even by winning out and taking the rematch with the Red Raiders in the Big 12. 

  • The most likely scenario is third-ranked Texas A&M winning the SEC at 13-0 over Alabama with an 11-win Georgia team pushing to the 4 seed during final deliberations. You're not supposed to be docked by what happens in a conference championship, but a three-loss Crimson Tide would have to slide behind the Bulldogs. In that scenario, Georgia's final-month wins would include Florida, Mississippi State, Texas, Charlotte and Georgia Tech, while Alabama would hold wins over LSU, Eastern Illinois and Auburn. That's not recency bias. It's one team entering the playoff red hot and the other leaking oil.
  • Another scenario is Alabama beating Texas A&M in the conference title game and earning the No. 2 or No. 3 seed, depending on the committee's preference alongside the Big Ten's runner-up. That would leave the No. 4 spot open for the Aggies, Big 12 champion Texas Tech or 11-win Georgia. 
  • Best-case for the currently fifth-ranked Red Raiders getting a first-round bye would be all of these games going chalk the rest of the season along with a convincing win over BYU in the Big 12 final. A 12th victory and conference title should be enough to push them ahead of the Bulldogs for that final position.