SEC led by Alabama and Ohio State lead CFP rankings release winners and losers

The debut College Football Playoff rankings show the power of being unbeaten.

Miami does not have the wins to match one-loss teams such as Georgia, Indiana and Kentucky, not to mention two-loss contenders such as Texas, Alabama and Tennessee.

But being one of only three unbeaten teams in the Bowl Subdivision helped land the Hurricanes at No. 1 in the first rankings of the 2026 season, ahead of the No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Utah and the No. 4 Indiana.

Miami has a very good win against No. 16 Wake Forest and two lopsided wins against a pair of opponents with a winning record in Clemson and Pittsburgh. Only two of eight wins have come by a single-digit margin.

The Hurricanes should feel confident in their ability to hold onto the top spot by running the table in the regular season. That quest begins on Saturday with a huge matchup against Notre Dame, ranked No. 11 by the committee, in what could be a playoff eliminator for the Fighting Irish.

Miami, the SEC and Ohio State lead the winners and losers from the first playoff rankings:

Winners

The SEC

While Miami took the top spot, the SEC owned the debut rankings with four teams in the top seven and nine teams overall in the Top 25. After Georgia, the list of ranked SEC teams features No. 5 Alabama, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 7 Texas, No. 10 Mississippi, No. 13 Tennessee, No. 14 LSU, No. 18 Missouri and No. 21 South Carolina.

That the conference has just two one-loss teams heading into November is a little concerning given that no three-loss team has earned an at-large playoff berth without winning or playing for the conference championship. But having this many teams in the first rankings speaks to how the committee currently views the SEC as the strongest of the Power Four leagues, and rightfully so. Come early December, this perception should overcome playoff history to land at least one and potentially multiple three-loss teams in the bracket.

Alabama

The biggest type of winner is the many two-loss teams in the SEC. No contender proves that point more than the Crimson Tide, whose rise into the top five was the most stunning single ranking on Tuesday night. Think of this way: Tennessee dominated Alabama last month but came in eight spots behind the Tide. What buoys Alabama are wins against Kentucky and South Carolina, what was then a ranked win against Mississippi State and a very competitive loss to Georgia. Committee chair Hunter Yurachek noted that win against Mississippi State on the road as a significant plus to the Crimson Tide’s resume because it came when the Bulldogs were unbeaten and quarterback Kamario Taylor was healthy before a season-ending injury. Before Tuesday night, the thought was that Alabama had to win this weekend against LSU to stay alive in the playoff race. But these rankings say that the Tide probably can afford a close lose to the Tigers and remain in the bracket as long as they win out from there.

Boise State

Unsurprisingly, No. 25 Boise State was the only team from the Group of Six in the rankings. To have any Group of Six team in the debut Top 25 is a little surprising; there were none in the first rankings of last season. But the Broncos have moved into the driver’s seat for another playoff appearance thanks to a narrow loss to Oregon and wins against Memphis, Western Michigan and Fresno State. While there’s no way to know what Group of Six teams the committee had under consideration, other contenders include Texas-San Antonio, North Dakota State and Memphis.

The Big 12

While lacking the overall depth of the SEC, the Big Ten was also rewarded with six teams in the rankings. This group includes several teams on the back end of the Top 25 in No. 19 Iowa, No. 20 Southern California and No. 23 Oregon. (The Ducks were one of the bigger surprises in the rankings after posting three losses.) Closer to the top, the conference has the Hoosiers and unbeaten No. 8 UCLA. One thing to keep in mind this month: While this will be a bloody final month for the SEC, with multiple games on the docket between two-loss contenders, the Big Ten has fewer bubble-bursting matchups in November and could end the regular season with more two-loss teams than the SEC.

Losers

Notre Dame

Coming in at No. 11 is a total nightmare for Notre Dame, emphasizing the do-or-die aspect of the matchup with Miami. Clearly, a loss on Saturday should end any chance the Fighting Irish have of getting back into the playoff after missing last year’s tournament with two losses. The issue is the lack of marquee wins: Wisconsin is the best note on Notre Dame’s résumé, which is a serious problem. That has led to additional fallout for No. 9 Brigham Young, which beat the Irish last month. The Cougars hoped to crack the top five largely because of that win, but a loss to Central Florida and close calls against TCU, Iowa State and Arizona State have dinged their reputation.

Ohio State

Had they won against Southern California last Saturday, the Buckeyes would’ve been in the top three of the rankings and in the debate for No. 1. Instead, Ohio State debuted at No. 12, behind every unbeaten or one-loss Power Four other than Wake Forest and also well behind Texas due to the Longhorns’ non-conference win in September. This is rare territory for one of the dominant programs in the country: OSU hadn’t been ranked lower than No. 7 at any point in the playoff rankings since being No. 10 on Nov. 18, 2018, and hadn’t been this low in the debut rankings since coming in at No. 16 in the first-ever Top 25 on Oct. 26, 2014. (That team won the national championship.)

Wake Forest

Wake Forest had an argument for being higher based on the good loss to Miami, a win against Louisville and an active four-game run of decimating ACC competition. As one example of a team ahead of the Demon Deacons, LSU has just a single win against a Power Four opponent with a winning record, blowing out Clemson in the season opener. While suggesting that they might tumble out the rankings with a loss this month, to debut at No. 16 also says the Deacons are in the mix for an at-large spot should they run the table in November with wins against SMU and Duke and play the Hurricanes tight for a second time in the ACC championship game.

Texas Tech

Meanwhile, No. 15 Texas Tech comes in as the lowest-ranked one-loss Power Four team. There is an argument for the Red Raiders being ranked too low: No. 17 Houston and No. 22 Arizona are very good wins, and they also scored a nice non-conference victory against Oregon State. Tech was also pushed around by Cincinnati, though, and that loss looks worse after the Bearcats were blown out by Utah. More than anything, this first ranking essentially narrows the Red Raiders’ playoff path. While messiness in the SEC and Big Ten would change things, Tech might be a team that can only reach the playoff via another conference championship.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SEC led by Alabama and Ohio State lead CFP rankings release winners and losers