When the College Football Playoff top 25 rankings come out

Your look at the full schedule for when the College Football Playoff rankings will be released during the 2023 season

James Parks | Dec 2, 2023

When the College Football Playoff top 25 rankings come out /

For most of the 2023 college football season, defending national champion Georgia was the virtual consensus No. 1 team in most of the rankings. That will change, however, after the defending back-to-back champs had their 29-game win streak snapped at the worst possible time, with a loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, a result that will have a seismic effect on the polls.

Where do things stand as we move into Selection Sunday? While the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll help us understand where the top teams stand up for most of the season, the one that really matters is the official College Football Playoff rankings created by the selection committee. Here's a look at the committee's schedule for releasing the 2023 rankings.

College football playoff rankings schedule

All times Eastern, all on ESPN

CFP rankings release No. 1 — Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 7-8 p.m.

CFP rankings release No. 2 — Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 7-8 p.m.

CFP rankings release No. 3 — Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 9 p.m.

CFP rankings release No. 4 — Tuesday, Nov. 21 at 7-8 p.m.

CFP rankings release No. 5 — Tuesday, Nov. 28 at 7-7:30 p.m.

Selection Day — Sunday, Dec. 3 at 12 p.m.

College football playoff rankings criteria

College Football Playoff selectors create top 25 rankings based on their evaluation of teams’ performance on the field.

The committee employs several metrics to select the best teams.

Strength of schedule
Head-to-head game results
Results vs. teams in top 25 rankings
Results vs. common opponents
Conference championships

College Football Playoff electors also use advanced analytics to gauge teams’ play, but those numbers don’t play a formal role in the committee creating its top 25 rankings.

More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | All Teams

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Published Dec 2, 2023

JAMES PARKS

James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.