College Football Playoff rankings: BYU falls, Boise State rises in Week 13

Where things stand in the College Football Playoff rankings as we move into Week 13 action.

What teams moved up, who slid down, and who stayed put in the College Football Playoff rankings for Week 13 / USA Today Sports | Imagn

Coming off an eventful weekend of prove-it moments for national title hopefuls, the College Football Playoff selection committee has revealed its third top 25 rankings.

There was one big shake-up in the Week 13 rankings and bracket projection after BYU lost its first game of the season, paving the way for the Group of Five favorite Boise State to emerge as the new favorite to earn a first-round bye.

The four highest-ranked conference champions will receive the No. 1 through No. 4 seeds and first-round byes in the playoff, while the next seven highest-ranked teams and the fifth-best conference champion are seeded No. 5 through No. 12 in their ranking order.

Where do things stand in the first College Football Playoff rankings?

Let’s take a look at what teams landed where in the first top 25 poll, according to the selection committee, and then another glance at what the playoff would look like if it started today.

College Football Playoff rankings for Week 13

1. Oregon
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Penn State
5. Indiana
6. Notre Dame
7. Alabama
8. Miami
9. Ole Miss
10. Georgia
11. Tennessee
12. Boise State
13. SMU
14. BYU
15. Texas A&M
16. Colorado
17. Clemson
18. South Carolina
19. Army
20. Tulane
21. Arizona State
22. Iowa State
23. Missouri
24. UNLV
25. Illinois

How did we do? Our prediction for the College Football Playoff rankings

What the College Football Playoff looks like today

Playoff seeding is not necessarily the same as the CFP top 25 rankings position, given some teams will be given higher seeds as conference champions

First-Round Byes

No. 1 Oregon
Presumed Big Ten champion

No. 2 Texas
Presumed SEC champion

No. 3 Miami
Presumed ACC champion

No. 4 Boise State
Presumed Mountain West champion

First-Round games

No. 12 BYU at
No. 5 Ohio State
Winner plays No. 4 Boise State

No. 9 Alabama at
No. 8 Notre Dame
Winner plays No. 1 Oregon

No. 11 Georgia at
No. 6 Penn State
Winner plays No. 3 Miami

No. 10 Ole Miss at
No. 7 Indiana
Winner plays No. 2 Texas

First team out: Tennessee

Second team out: SMU

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.

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