College Football Playoff Rankings: Oregon holds at No. 1 with Ohio State, Texas, Penn State, Indiana in tow

The second edition of the College Football Playoff Rankings were released Tuesday night with undefeated Oregon remaining at No. 1 in the initial year of the expanded 12-team field. Off to a dominant start this season with wins over Ohio State, Michigan, Illinois, and most recently, Maryland, the Ducks sit in the top spot seeking to make their second playoff appearance overall — first since the four-team field debuted after the 2014 season.

Seven of 10 teams ranked No. 1 in a season’s initial CFP Rankings ultimately reached the playoff in the four-team era with Mississippi State (2014), Tennessee (2022) and Ohio State (2023) being the exceptions. With eight more spots in the field this season, Oregon sits in a strong position at 10-0 as one of three remaining Power Four undefeated programs this season (BYU, Indiana).

Ohio State, Texas, Penn State and Indiana round out the rest of the top five with three of the slots changing from the initial CFP Rankings.

The top Group of Five program in Tuesday’s release is Boise State at No. 13. With the 12-team playoff model granting automatic bids to the five highest-ranked conference champions, the Broncos stand in pole position to earn that opportunity should they win their league. Army West Point is the only other Group of Five team in the initial CFP Rankings at No. 24.

Let’s take a look at the entire CFP Rankings top 25 along with the projected bracket seedings for the first 12 teams. Check out analysis by bowls expert Jerry Palm below.

College Football Playoff Rankings, Nov. 12

1. Oregon (10-0) | Projected No. 1 seed
2. Ohio State (8-1) | Projected No. 5 seed
3. Texas (8-1) | Projected No. 2 seed
4. Penn State (8-1) | Projected No. 6 seed
5. Indiana (10-0) | Projected No. 7 seed
6. BYU (9-0) | Projected No. 3 seed
7. Tennessee (8-1) | Projected No. 8 seed
8. Notre Dame (8-1) | Projected No. 9 seed
9. Miami (FL) (9-1) | Projected No. 4 seed
10. Alabama (7-2) | Projected No. 10 seed
11. Ole Miss (8-2) | Projected No. 11 seed
12. Georgia (7-2)
13. Boise State (8-1) | Projected No. 12 seed
14. SMU (8-1)
15. Texas A&M (7-2)
16. Kansas State (7-2)
17. Colorado (7-2)
18. Washington State (8-1)
19. Louisville (6-3)
20. Clemson (7-2)
21. South Carolina (6-3)
22. LSU (6-3)
23. Missouri (7-2)
24. Army (9-0)
25. Tulane (8-2)

Analysis by bowl expert Jerry Palm 

Still to come.