CFP rankings live updates (2024)

The second College Football Playoff rankings of the 2023 season were unveiled Tuesday night. Here’s what you need to know:

• Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan and Florida State remain in the top-four spots, respectively.
• Washington and Oregon are on the outside looking at the fifth and sixth spots for the second straight week.
• No. 2 Georgia hosts No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 3 Michigan takes on No. 10 Penn State on the road in Week 11.

College Football Playoff Top 25

1. Ohio State (9-0)
2. Georgia (9-0)
3. Michigan (9-0)
4. Florida State (9-0)
5. Washington (9-0)
6. Oregon (8-1)
7. Texas (8-1)
8. Alabama (8-1)
9. Ole Miss (8-1)
10. Penn State (8-1)
11. Louisville (8-1)
12. Oregon State (7-2)
13. Tennessee (7-2)
14. Missouri (7-2)
15. Oklahoma State (7-2)
16. Kansas (7-2)
17. Oklahoma (7-2)
18. Utah (7-2)
19. LSU (6-3)
20. Notre Dame (7-3)
21. Arizona (6-3)
22. Iowa (7-2)
23. Tulane (8-1)
24. North Carolina (7-2)
25. Kansas State (6-3)

With the 12-team College Football Playoff coming next season, The Athletic is using this season’s latest CFP selection committee rankings to illustrate how the new format will work.

Here’s how the bracket would be seeded and the site locations determined using the committee’s Nov. 7 rankings and the CFP’s previously announced 2024-25 game dates. Note: The Orange and Cotton bowls are scheduled to host the two semifinals, and the national championship game will be in Atlanta.

Nicole Auerbach and Chris Vannini are going LIVE to talk about the CFP rankings.

It would be interesting to where 9-0 James Madison ranked if the Dukes were eligible. They are not included in the CFP rankings as they are not eligible for the postseason. However, JMU sent a letter to the NCAA Board of Directors this week asking for another waiver to allow eligibility, citing the NY6 possibility as one factor. If the NCAA changes its mind and grants full eligibility to JMU, the Sun Belt would also allow JMU to play for the conference championship.

The league currently does not, because it doesn’t want to give up its NY6 chances by having an ineligible team win the conference. The NY6 spot is only available to conference champions.

A reminder: If there are no G5 teams in the final CFP rankings, the committee picks one of the five conference champions.

Unless you’re talking about sign-stealing, there isn’t much to discuss with Michigan. The Wolverines beat Purdue 41-13 to improve to 9-0 and stay at No. 3 in the rankings. Next week will be much more interesting. If the Wolverines beat Penn State, they could have a case to move up to No. 1 or No. 2.

If they lose, their chances of getting back into the top four will depend on beating Ohio State at the end of the year and hoping for help from other teams. This week is definitely a crossroads for Michigan’s season.

The top eight teams from last week all won, and nothing significant changed in this week's rankings. The biggest question I'd had coming into Tuesday was whether or not Georgia could leapfrog Ohio State for the top spot, now that the Bulldogs got a top-15 win over Missouri. But it appears the selection committee will wait for a little more of a resume boost before it moves the Dawgs up.

It's a little frustrating to see the committee rely on resume to justify Ohio State at No. 1 but lean more into eye test for Georgia and Michigan, keeping them above Florida State and Washington. Why would the Huskies, who have the best win of anyone (No. 6 Oregon) be left out of the top four? It is inconsistent logic by this committee.

There was some thought the committee could use the win over Missouri - Georgia’s first over a now-ranked team - as an excuse to elevate the Bulldogs, but it’s still just one ranked win versus the two for Ohio State. But look lower in the rankings: No. 9 Ole Miss is Georgia’s next opponent, No. 13 Tennessee is the next one. (After the Volunteers play Missouri.)

So if Georgia wins out in the regular season it either gets up to No. 1 or is a solid No. 2 going into the SEC championship. And even if the Bulldogs lose one of the next two - very possible - their resume would seem strong enough that a win in the SEC championship would be enough to get in. Does it get interesting if Georgia is 12-0 but loses the SEC championship? Yes, but that depends on what happens elsewhere in the country.

The bottom line, is Georgia’s schedule is slowly ceasing to be an albatross.

Ohio State held onto the top spot in the College Football Playoff rankings this week. After debuting in the top spot, Ohio State went on the road and beat Rutgers. Although it wasn’t a resume-defining win, it was enough for the playoff committee to keep the Buckeyes No. 1 despite Georgia beating No. 14 Missouri on Saturday. In the grand scheme of things, this doesn’t change much for the Buckeyes.

They host Michigan State and Minnesota in the next two weeks and the goal is to avoid an upset before going to Ann Arbor to play Michigan on Nov. 25. If Ohio State does that, it will control its own destiny to the College Football Playoff, once again.

1. Ohio State (9-0)
2. Georgia (9-0)
3. Michigan (9-0)
4. Florida State (9-0)
5. Washington (9-0)
6. Oregon (8-1)

• No. 7: Texas (8-1)
• No. 8: Alabama (8-1)
• No. 9: Ole Miss (8-1)
• No. 10: Penn State (8-1)

The Wildcats have beaten three ranked teams in a row, behind an improved offense led by former second-string QB Noah Fifita and WRs Jacob Cowing and Tetairoa McMillan.

In Fisch's first year with the program, Zona went 1-11. Year 2: 5-7. With three games still left to play, including Colorado this weekend, Arizona is already bowl-eligible and now has cracked the top 25.

It’s still Washington. There’s an argument that Oregon is indeed the better team, but for now, the head-to-head result has to stand between those two. Washington is one of seven undefeated teams left in college football and Michael Penix Jr. is a sure-fire Heisman candidate. Dillon Johnson looks more and more like a game-changer after the 256-yard performance he put up against USC.

After Alabama and Texas, I’d say Oregon is the next-best one-loss team. Bo Nix is playing at an elite level and Dan Lanning’s defense has outperformed the Pac-12 leading Washington Huskies to this point. If the Ducks meet Washington in the league championship game, I’d pick them to win the rematch for sure.

1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. Ohio State
4. Florida State

They are still the four best teams again this week. They're all undefeated and are the most proven and have everything in front of them in terms of controlling their fate. The margin for error is razor thin, however, especially for Michigan and Ohio State, who will, of course, play one another. Undefeated Washington is looming in the wings, ready to pounce should one of the top four teams fall.