Georgia takes top spot, Arizona slips to No. 23 as dramatic shakeup reshapes CFP rankings
by Nicholas Raschke, Cronkite News
November 11, 2026
PHOENIX – One week after Miami claimed the top spot in the first College Football Playoff rankings, the selection committee returned Tuesday with a completely rearranged Top 25, sending former contenders tumbling and elevating others into the national championship conversation.
Georgia (8-1) took over at No. 1 following a dominant 42-7 road victory over Ole Miss, while undefeated Utah (9-0) climbed to No. 2. Alabama (7-2) moved into third and UCLA (9-0) jumped four spots to round out the top four, which would receive first-round byes if the 12-team playoff began today.
Notre Dame (8-1) made one of the week's largest leaps, moving from No. 11 to No. 5 after defeating previously top-ranked Miami 31-24. The Hurricanes (8-1), meanwhile, dropped six spots to No. 7, highlighting a weekend in which seven games between ranked teams produced significant changes throughout the standings.
Arizona (7-2) remained in the Top 25 but slipped one place to No. 23 despite defeating TCU 29-28 on Friday.
CFP selection committee chairman Hunter Yurachek acknowledged the unprecedented movement during a teleconference following the rankings release.
"Not a single team is in the same spot that they held last week," Yurachek said.
Georgia’s return to No. 1 came after one of the weekend's most decisive performances, as it held Ole Miss to seven points while scoring 42 in Oxford. The Rebels, who entered the weekend ranked 10th, dropped nine places to No. 19, the largest fall of any team.
Georgia's performance reinforced its standing among the nation's strongest teams according to ESPN's Football Power Index, a predictive measure of team strength used by the network but not the CFP. The Bulldogs rank second nationally in FPI and strength of record, which measures how impressive a team's win-loss record is based on the specific schedule they have played.
However, Yurachek emphasized that the committee's evaluation extended beyond those numbers.
"That's just a really complete team that the committee is very high on," Yurachek said.
He also pointed to Georgia's defensive performance and quarterback Gunner Stockton's importance to the offense, explaining that the committee placed considerable value on what it observed from the Bulldogs on film.
Georgia's ascent came at the expense of two undefeated teams that remain in the top four.
Utah continued its unbeaten season with a 28-20 victory over rival BYU, moving to No. 2 after entering the initial rankings third.
UCLA, the nation's only other undefeated team, climbed from No. 8 to No. 4 following a 34-20 road victory over Minnesota.
The Bruins possess one of the most unusual statistical profiles among the playoff contenders. ESPN ranks UCLA first nationally in ESPN's SOR, suggesting its 9-0 record is the nation's strongest resume by that measure. However, the Bruins sit just 27th in ESPN's FPI and 67th in SOS.
That contrast illustrates one of the central challenges facing the selection committee: how much weight to place on an undefeated record versus opponent quality and a team's projected strength.
Yurachek defended the committee's evaluation of Utah and UCLA during the teleconference, stating that both programs have continued to meet every challenge on their schedules.
While the committee rewarded those undefeated teams, it also elevated Alabama to No. 3 despite the Crimson Tide having twice as many losses as several teams below them.
Alabama strengthened its resume with a 31-13 road victory over LSU, moving two spots higher while the Tigers fell seven places to No. 21.
The Crimson Tide's statistical profile could help explain their placement. Based on ESPN's metrics, Alabama ranks first nationally in SOS, third in FPI and fifth in SOR, giving the committee a strong resume to consider despite the team's 7-2 record.
However, the ranking also raises questions about how head-to-head results factor into the evaluation.
Tennessee (7-2), which defeated Alabama 26-10 on Oct. 17, sits five positions behind the Crimson Tide at No. 8, despite climbing from No. 13 after dismantling Kentucky 34-6.
Yurachek explained that the committee distinguished the two programs through the overall quality of their victories.
"You have to search a little deeper to find (Tennessee’s) next best win, and we feel like Alabama right now has four really good wins," Yurachek said, comparing Tennessee's resume with Alabama's.
He identified Alabama's victories over LSU, Kentucky, South Carolina and Mississippi State as important factors in the committee's assessment.
The Volunteers' convincing victory over Kentucky also significantly altered the playoff picture. The Wildcats dropped from No. 6 to No. 11, putting them at the edge of the projected 12-team field.
While Georgia and Alabama climbed, Notre Dame's six-place jump provided another major storyline.
The Fighting Irish entered last week's rankings at No. 11 despite being fourth in the Associated Press poll. The committee had expressed respect for Notre Dame's overall quality but questioned its lack of a signature victory.
That changed Saturday when the Fighting Irish defeated Miami in South Bend, Indiana.
"They had that opportunity Saturday night, and they looked like the Notre Dame team that should be ranked at number five," Yurachek said during an interview on ESPN's rankings selection show.
Notre Dame built a 24-3 advantage before Miami rallied to make the game competitive. Despite the Hurricanes reducing the deficit to seven points, the defeat removed them from the top four and their projected first-round bye.
Yurachek attributed Miami's drop not only to its defeat but also to the significant victories of nearby teams, including Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Utah and UCLA.
The rankings also produced one of the week's most unusual developments when Indiana dropped five positions despite not playing.
The Hoosiers (8-1) entered the weekend ranked fourth, placing them in position for a first-round bye. After a scheduled bye week, they emerged at No. 9, outside the top eight teams projected to host or receive byes in the current bracket.
"Indiana was probably the victim of having a bye week at the wrong time," Yurachek said.
He explained that significant victories by teams around Indiana changed the committee's comparisons. Additionally, every Big Ten opponent Indiana had faced to that point lost over the weekend, negatively affecting its strength-of-schedule and strength-of-record metrics.
The Hoosiers' slide demonstrates how teams can lose ground in the rankings without suffering another defeat, particularly when the strength of previous opponents changes.
Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Ohio State continued one of the season's most dramatic declines.
The Buckeyes (6-3) fell from No. 12 to No. 20 after losing 41-28 at home to Oregon, their second consecutive defeat following a loss to USC the previous weekend.
Oregon (6-3), meanwhile, climbed seven places to No. 16 following the victory, becoming the committee's highest-ranked three-loss team.
The Ducks' resurgence contrasts with the struggles of other three-loss programs, including Ole Miss, LSU and Ohio State. Oregon also owns ranked victories over USC and Boise State, strengthening its case against teams with similar records.
Texas (7-2) climbed to No. 6 following a 34-20 victory at Missouri, while the Tigers dropped four places to No. 22. In the Big 12, the rankings produced another complicated comparison.
BYU (7-2) dropped only one spot to No. 10 despite losing to Utah, while Texas Tech (8-1) climbed three spots to No. 12 after a 53-48 win over West Virginia.
Although the Red Raiders have one fewer loss, BYU owns a considerably stronger schedule, ranking 30th nationally in SOS compared with Texas Tech's 74th. BYU's victory over fifth-ranked Notre Dame also grew more significant after the Fighting Irish beat Miami.
Texas Tech is now one of the teams closest to the playoff cutoff, alongside No. 13 Wake Forest, which improved to 8-1 following a 77-0 victory over Merrimack, an FCS program.
The 2026 playoff format guarantees automatic berths to the champions of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC, along with the highest-ranked team from six designated conferences outside the Power Four.
That final automatic berth would currently belong to No. 24 Boise State (8-1), leaving Texas Tech outside the projected bracket despite being ranked 12th by the committee.
Notre Dame also has a separate provision guaranteeing it a playoff berth if it finishes within the committee's final top 12.
Arizona, meanwhile, has an opportunity to reshape the Big 12 race when it hosts second-ranked Utah on Saturday at Casino Del Sol Stadium in Tucson. The game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. MST on FOX, marking the Wildcats' highest-ranked home opponent since 2007.
The matchup headlines another weekend that could shake up the rankings.
No. 9 Indiana hosts No. 18 USC, giving the Hoosiers a chance to strengthen their resume after their unexpected fall. No. 6 Texas travels to face No. 21 LSU, while No. 8 Tennessee visits Texas A&M.
Georgia will defend its new No. 1 ranking against No. 22 Missouri, and No. 12 Texas Tech travels to face newly ranked No. 25 Oklahoma State.
With three weeks remaining in the regular season before conference championship weekend, the committee's latest rankings remain a snapshot, not a final judgment.
When asked during the teleconference what teams such as Texas Tech and Wake Forest could do to improve their postseason positioning, Yurachek offered a straightforward answer.
"Just keep winning football games."
The next CFP rankings will be released Tuesday, Nov. 17, and the final 12-team bracket will be announced Dec. 6.
After a week in which all 25 teams changed positions, another round of decisive results could once again leave the playoff picture looking substantially different.
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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