Paul Finebaum calls first College Football Playoff rankings ‘discombobulated’

The first College Football Playoff rankings for the 2026 college football season were released on Tuesday, and, as expected, there are plenty of mixed opinions.

Miami leads the rankings, followed by Georgia, Utah, Indiana, and Alabama. If the CFP started right now, Miami, Georgia, Utah, and Indiana would have first-round byes into the quarterfinals.

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum saw the released rankings on Tuesday and called them “discombobulated.”

“I think it valued strength of schedule to a point; I don’t really know if I can make much sense of it because it is about as discombobulated a ranking as I’ve ever seen,” Finebaum said on “Get Up.”

Why Paul Finebaum isn’t wrong

Dec 7, 2024; Atlanta, GA, USA; ESPN announcer Paul Finebaum before the 2024 SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images Credit: USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect (Reuters)

The top four of the CFP rankings are great, but some selections in the top 10 don’t make much sense.

For example, Alabama is fifth, despite two losses, one of which was against Tennessee. To make it even more interesting, Tennessee beat Alabama head-to-head and is ranked No. 13.

Heck, Texas is ranked No. 7 with two losses and hasn’t played super well at times this year.

These rankings can and will change throughout the rest of the season, but those are definitely some curious choices by the committee.

Time will tell how next week’s rankings look once Week 10 finishes this Saturday.