College Football Playoff Rankings: Ohio State falls, Alabama rises in Week 15

What teams moved where in the latest College Football Playoff rankings entering Championship Week and coming off stunning losses by Ohio State and Miami that shook up the bracket.

Ohio State fell and Texas rose in the latest College Football Playoff rankings entering Championship Week. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Coming off an eventful Rivalry Week, the College Football Playoff selection committee was faced with some important decisions when compiling its top 25 rankings and bracket projection entering Championship Weekend.

Ohio State played a role in those decisions, after the heavily-favored Buckeyes dropped a shocker against Michigan, and Miami couldn’t get past Syracuse in the regular season finale.

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 15

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

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
Projected Big Ten champion

No. 2 Texas
Projected SEC champion

No. 3 SMU
Projected ACC champion

No. 4 Boise State
Projected Mountain West champion

First Round Games

No. 12 Arizona State at
No. 5 Penn State
Winner plays No. 4 Boise State

No. 9 Tennessee at
No. 8 Ohio State
Winner plays No. 1 Oregon

No. 11 Alabama at
No. 6 Notre Dame
Winner plays No. 3 SMU

No. 10 Indiana at
No. 7 Georgia
Winner plays No. 2 Texas

First two out: Miami, Ole Miss

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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