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The first College Football Playoff rankings have been released and the reigning champions are at the top of the pack.
The Ohio State Buckeyes were ranked first when ESPN released the projected 12-team field Tuesday night. The 2024 champions, who defeated Notre Dame in the championship game earlier this year, have been stellar with an 8-0 start to no one's surprise.
But perhaps one of the best stories this season comes from the No. 2-ranked team, the Indiana Hoosiers. Head coach Curt Cignetti's group has been phenomenal to start the year, and they are leading the Big Ten with a 9-0 record thanks to the play of Heisman candidate quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
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Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day watches during the second half against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Gies Memorial Stadium in Champaign on Oct. 11, 2025. (IMAGE)
Rounding out the top four seeds, who will earn a first-round bye in the CFP, are No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 4 Alabama.
The SEC is well represented in the debut ranking. Georgia is ranked No. 5, followed by Lane Kiffin's Ole Miss Rebels at No. 6.
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Rounding out the top 10 are BYU, the No. 7 team that leads the Big 12 with a perfect 8-0 record; Texas Tech; Oregon; and Fighting Irish at No. 10.
Notre Dame may have lost its first two games of the season, but the Irish have reeled off six straight wins as an overall team. Their first two losses were against the Aggies and No. 18 Miami in their first game.
Speaking of the Hurricanes, they have the same amount of losses as the Fighting Irish, but their recent overtime loss to SMU caused them to drop in the standings.
Mississippi head coach Lane Kiffin watches his team play against Oklahoma during the first half in Norman, Oklahoma, on Oct. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)
Right at the top are Arch Manning and the 11th-ranked Texas Longhorns, especially considering the team's win over 16th-ranked Vanderbilt. The No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners are also close.
Since each Power Four conference will have a representative, ACC leader Virginia is ranked 14th. With the top 25 teams coming from a Power Four conference, the CFP committee had Memphis as the best team in the Group of Five.
However, this is not the same format as previous college football seasons because this time the committee is using a direct seeding model. The top four teams in the final standings, regardless of which conference they play in, will receive a bye in the first round.
Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith celebrates a sack against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 1, 2025. (Image)
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With the current standings, Memphis would face Georgia, Virginia would play Ole Miss, Notre Dame would travel to BYU and Oregon would face Texas Tech.
Of course, this is just the first of many rankings to come. The bracket will be finalized on Dec. 7, the day after the conference championship games.
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