CFP debate intensifies as rankings set rivalry stage

By Chris Marler

We’re in the home stretch for the College Football Playoff rankings. The week before rivalry week means there are three rankings left before announcing the field in the College Football Playoff for the 2025-2026 season.

Tuesday night, the top five teams were the exact same as the week before and the only change in the top-ten was Oregon jumping Ole Miss after their win over Southern Cal.

The fiercest debate over the last week and a half centers on teams ranked No. 9 through No. 12, especially Miami vs. Notre Dame. Despite identical 9–2 records and Miami’s head-to-head win, the committee still believes the Irish are the better team.

“Notre Dame is a complete team and deserves to be ranked where they are,” said Arkansas AD and committee chairperson Hunter Yurachek.

Yurachek was also asked about Ole Miss and whether or not potentially losing their head coach before the CFP would impact their standing in the rankings or CFP field of 12.

“We didn’t have any discussion about Ole Miss and their coach. It is in the protocol, but I’m not sure we will have a data point to discuss that.”

He said both of those things after making a six, seven joke, and somehow the middle school reference was the least cringe and embarrassing moment of the broadcast.

Another notable takeaway was how the committee positioned certain teams to surge with a rivalry-week upset. We’ve seen it before, a preemptive bump that conveniently paves the way for a top-12 jump if they shock a favored opponent.

Many thought Texas would be the beneficiary of that. However, 9-2 Michigan was the team that saw the most significant positive movement in the rankings. They moved up three spots and jumped Texas after their win over 4-7 Maryland.