There will be a new No. 1.
Ohio State is going to drop way down the rankings and may even fall out of the Top 25 entirely.
The selection committee will have to decide where Notre Dame lands after its huge win against former No. 1 Miami, and how far the Hurricanes fall.
The second round of College Football Playoff rankings will provide answers to some of the biggest questions coming out of another chaotic weekend.
Another uncertainty due to be addressed is how the committee will rank the multiple three-loss teams in the SEC and Big Ten. Will the rankings show that it’s curtains for the Buckeyes, LSU
and Missouri?
These five questions are front and center heading into Tuesday night’s playoff ranking refresh:
Can Utah leapfrog Georgia for No. 1?
It’s highly unlikely. Utah has a case built on its unbeaten record, win against Brigham Young and strong metrics, especially on offense. While Arkansas is at the bottom of the SEC standings, the Utes did blow out the Razorbacks by 33 points in September.
But it won’t be enough to keep Georgia from taking over at No. 1. While the BYU win is huge for the Utes’ résumé, the committee won’t place as much value on it as they will the Bulldogs’ road successes against Alabama and Ole Miss.
In addition, the Bulldogs ace the eye test. While there’s that one inexplicable loss on its record, Georgia has been the most consistently dominant team in the Power Four. That’s been particularly true since the loss to the Tigers.
How far does Ohio State fall?
Ohio State will suffer a steep fall in the rankings after dropping to 6-3 with a loss to Oregon. That’s two losses in a row for the Buckeyes, who are just barely clinging to the fringes of the at-large playoff race and currently have a slim chance of reaching the Big Ten championship game.
Ranked No. 12 last week, OSU will stay in the Top 25 but will be somewhere around No. 20, mirroring its spot in the new US LBM Coaches Poll. At a minimum, the Buckeyes will be behind two other three-loss teams in Ole Miss and Oregon. They should stay above LSU and South Carolina, though.
Can Miami stay ahead of Notre Dame?
The committee did eventually honor Miami’s head-to-head win a year ago, bumping the Hurricanes over Notre Dame and into the tournament in the final playoff rankings. There are still two reasons Miami could stay in front of the Irish:
This road loss against a top-level opponent comes with a caveat, since Miami played for the first time season without star receiver Malachi Toney. Time and again during the playoff era, we’ve seen the committee weigh losses differently when a team is missing an elite player. Though that’s largely been reserved for missing quarterbacks, Toney’s impact is so hard to ignore that it could sway the committee’s thinking.
And two, bumping Notre Dame ahead would require the committee move each team about five spots from last week’s Top 25. That’s a big number, especially near the top of the rankings.
Will Alabama crack the top three?
Miami’s loss will move Alabama up at least one spot in the new rankings. The Crimson Tide could easily climb another spot to No. 3 and move ahead of Indiana, which was idle. The argument is easy to make: Alabama was No. 5 in the debut rankings and added a road win against LSU.
Having two losses will keep the Tide behind Utah. But they have wins against LSU, Kentucky and South Carolina, another win against Mississippi State before Kamario Taylor’s season-ending injury, and a three-point loss to Georgia. The committee loves Alabama, and for very good reason.
Will there be a second Group of Six team?
Boise State is a lock for the Top 25 after coming in at No. 25 in the debut rankings and then blowing out Colorado State with its backup quarterback. The Broncos are expected to be the only Group of Six team in the rankings, with one-loss New Mexico the only other realistic option.
When do next CFP rankings come out?
- Date: Tuesday, Nov. 10
- Time: 9 p.m. ET
The next CFP rankings of the 2026 season will come out starting at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 10.
When do CFP rankings come out? College Football Playoff 2026 release schedule
Here's a look at the full CFP rankings release schedule for the 2026 season:
- Tuesday, Nov. 10: 9-9:30 p.m. ET
- Tuesday, Nov. 17: 9-9:30 p.m. ET
- Tuesday, Nov. 24: 7:30-8 p.m. ET
- Tuesday, Dec. 1: 7-7:30 p.m. ET
- Sunday, Dec. 6: Noon-3 p.m. ET
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CFP rankings face a major reset. Here are the 5 biggest mysteries
