The second installment of the College Football Playoff rankings followed a pattern established during the four-team era that has continued with the 12-team format and assuredly will remain in place next year when the event grows to 24.
Call it Correction Tuesday.
The selection committee took the opportunity, while considering the latest results, to fix nonsensical decisions in the initial rankings revealed last week.
Whether the moves came in response to criticism from fans and media or were detected internally matters not.
The end result was right-sizing the baffling placement of several teams.
That was apparent in the way the committee treated Indiana, which did not play over the weekend but nonetheless dropped five spots.
The Hoosiers were grossly over-ranked last week (No. 4) despite having no quality wins, a soft nonconference schedule and a series of wobbly performances.
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The course correction was apparent with UCLA, as well. The undefeated Bruins were No. 8 last week, five behind undefeated Utah despite having equivalent schedules and a comparable number of quality wins.
This week? The Bruins rose four spots. Some of that ascent could be attributable to the victory at Minnesota, but the Gophers aren't ranked — that single performance clearly wasn't the sole reason for UCLA's climb into the top five.
(Also helping the Bruins: losses by several top-10 teams.)
Georgia wide receiver Talyn Taylor celebrates after a touchdown during the third quarter against host Ole Miss on Nov. 7, 2026.
Other developments of note:
— Top-ranked Miami tumbled six spots after losing at Notre Dame, offering more evidence that the committee seemingly cares more about loss totals than the quality of wins and losses.
The Hurricanes pushed an elite team to the wire on the road without their best player, injured receiver Malachi Toney, and should not have dropped that far.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame, which was arguably too low last week (No. 11), rose six spots after beating the Hurricanes.
In that position, and with a soft finishing schedule, the Irish are effectively a lock to make the CFP and gobble one of the seven at-large bids.
— Utah rose one spot, to No. 2, after beating BYU. It's the highest CFP ranking in school history and positions the Utes to remain above the cut line even if they lose this week at Arizona or in the Big 12 championship game.
Meanwhile, the committee treated the Holy War with respect: The Cougars only dropped one spot, to No. 10, after losing in Salt Lake City.
— Oregon (yes, Oregon) climbed seven spots, to No. 16, after dominating Ohio State.
The placement is notable in that the Ducks are the highest-ranked three-loss team and positioned to challenge for an at-large berth if they win out and don't qualify for the Big Ten championship game.
— The committee continued to value the SEC, which placed four teams in the top 10 and nine in the overall rankings.
One-loss Georgia was No. 1, ahead of undefeated Utah, and two-loss Alabama was No. 3, ahead of UCLA.
— The committee was good to the Big 12, as well.
Utah climbed to No. 2, BYU only dropped one and Texas Tech rose three spots to No. 12 despite a narrow home win over unranked West Virginia.
Also, Houston climbed to No. 14. And while No. 23 Arizona dropped one spot, Oklahoma State entered the rankings at No. 25.
All in all, the Big 12 placed six teams in the rankings, equaling the Big Ten's total.
"There's a very real possibility the Big 12 gets two teams in," ESPN analyst Greg McElroy said during the selection show.
-- Boise State climbed one spot, to No. 24, and is the only ranked team from the Group of Six conferences.
Were the playoff selected today, and not Dec. 6, the Broncos would receive the Group of Six's automatic bid and be matched against No. 5 Notre Dame.
