CFP Top 25: 30 Teams Still Vying for Playoff Spots After Week 13

Lead: The College Football Playoff selection committee released its Week 13 Top 25 on Tuesday night, leaving Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M and Georgia as the top four teams as teams head into the final full weekend of the regular season. Movement was minimal after every squad ranked inside the top 14 that played in Week 13 won its game. Texas Tech remained No. 5 while Oregon rose to No. 6 after beating USC, leapfrogging Ole Miss. The rankings set the stage for rivalry weekend and a swelling list of contenders — 30 schools still have a mathematical path to the 12-team field.

Key Takeaways

• Top four: Ohio State (11-0), Indiana (11-0), Texas A&M (11-0) and Georgia (10-1) sit 1–4 in the Week 13 CFP Top 25.
• Minimal churn: Every team ranked in the top 14 that played in Week 13 won, producing little movement in the committee’s list.
• Top 10 snapshot: Texas Tech (10-1) holds No. 5, Oregon (10-1) is No. 6, Ole Miss (10-1) slipped to No. 7, followed by Oklahoma (9-2), Notre Dame (9-2) and Alabama (9-2).
• Bubble shifting: BYU is No. 11, Miami jumped to No. 12, Utah fell to No. 13 after a comeback win, and Vanderbilt sits at No. 14.
• Conference stakes: Five highest-ranked conference champions will be guaranteed spots among the 12-team playoff field; that makes conference title games crucial.
• Non-Power 4 hopes: Tulane (American) is the highest-ranked Group of Five team at No. 24; James Madison (Sun Belt East) has clinched its division but faces an uphill national case.
• Coaching uncertainty: Ole Miss faces questions about Lane Kiffin’s status heading into the postseason; the committee says coaching changes would not have been discussed in the ranking process.

Background

The CFP expanded to a 12-team format, reshaping how teams qualify: five highest-ranked conference champions receive automatic berths, and seven at-large spots fill out the field. That structure elevates conference title games’ value, particularly for mid-tier Power Five teams and Group of Five champions hoping to leap into the at-large conversation. With only a few marquee matchups remaining in the regular season, committee rankings after Week 13 are the last widely watched snapshot before rivalry-weekend outcomes and championship games begin to crystallize the field.

Committee deliberations focus on résumé elements — record, quality wins, strength of schedule, conference championships and head-to-head results — but they explicitly say they do not factor in off-field personnel moves when ranking teams. This season’s realignment (teams like Oregon, Utah and Oklahoma in new conferences) and the expanded field have produced more scenarios in which multiple teams from a single league could be postseason qualifiers. That uncertainty is why the committee’s weekly placements matter more than ever: a single upset or conference title result can cascade through the bubble.

Main Event

The Week 13 release reaffirmed the top tier: Ohio State (11-0) kept the top spot, followed by undefeated Indiana (11-0), Texas A&M (11-0) and Georgia (10-1). Texas Tech remained at No. 5 (10-1), and Oregon’s victory over USC moved the Ducks to No. 6 (10-1) and ahead of Ole Miss (10-1). Oklahoma (9-2), Notre Dame (9-2) and Alabama (9-2) completed the top 10, preserving a tight group of candidates for at-large slots.

Down the list, BYU held at No. 11 (10-1); Miami climbed to No. 12 (9-2) while Utah slid to No. 13 (9-2) despite a dramatic comeback to beat Kansas State. Vanderbilt sits at No. 14 (9-2), and Michigan moved up three places to No. 15 (9-2) before its rivalry matchup at No. 1 Ohio State. Texas rose to No. 16 (8-3); the Longhorns meet No. 3 Texas A&M on Friday night in a high-stakes rivalry game for both playoff positioning and bragging rights.

The committee’s list also underlines conference distribution: Miami remains the highest-ranked ACC team, but the Hurricanes face a tougher path to the ACC title game. The Pac-12-to-Big Ten realignment and SEC additions have produced an unusual mix of contenders across conferences; the committee must weigh interconference results and late-season momentum as championship weekend approaches.

Comparison & Data

The table above reproduces the committee’s Week 13 Top 25 and records. The expanded, 12-team field means the five highest-ranked conference champions are effectively guaranteed berths; that makes the identity of conference title winners as important as final rankings. Group-of-Five and Sun Belt contenders face a narrow window — typically only the conference champion’s path to automatic entry is realistic.

Analysis & Implications

The committee’s conservative movement this week reflects two dynamics: late-season scheduling balance and a preference for head-to-head and conference-championship clarity. With many top teams idle or winning predictable contests, the committee preserved order, leaving decisions to rivalry weekend outcomes. That means a handful of games — Michigan at Ohio State, Texas at Texas A&M, and the Egg Bowl, among others — carry outsized weight for the at-large debate.

Conference influence is rising under the 12-team format. If the five highest-ranked conference champions are locked in, that leaves seven at-large spots for teams with strong résumés. That structure favors Power Five champions and teams with marquee wins; it squeezes mid-major hopefuls, which will probably need an exceptional résumé or an unusually chaotic selection cycle to crack the at-large group. Tulane and James Madison remain the highest Group of Five names in the conversation, but both would need favorable results elsewhere to claim a slot.

For teams on the bubble, late-season wins over ranked opponents can be transformational. Michigan beating Ohio State would vault the Wolverines into a dramatically different postseason conversation; similarly, a loss by a higher-ranked team could quickly drop it into the bubble. The committee’s public comments that they did not factor possible coaching absences into rankings aim to keep assessments focused on on-field performance, but sudden coaching moves could still influence committee discretion through perceived continuity concerns.

Reactions & Quotes

The committee addressed one such concern directly in media appearances Tuesday.

“We would not have seen the team play without a coach.”

Hunter Yurachek, CFP selection committee chair (Arkansas athletic director), on ESPN

Yurachek’s comment was offered while explaining that potential coaching changes — specifically the speculation surrounding Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin — were not part of the committee’s ranking discussion. The committee insisted its placements are based on games played and documented résumés, not hypothetical postseason personnel moves.

“A decision on Kiffin’s future is expected the Saturday after Friday’s Egg Bowl.”

Keith Carter, Ole Miss athletic director, reported comment

Keith Carter’s timeline — given publicly last week — underscores the immediacy of the coaching question for Ole Miss fans and the team’s postseason plans. Carter framed the decision point as coming after the rivalry game with Mississippi State, creating added uncertainty for a program sitting near the top-10 bubble.

Unconfirmed

• Whether Lane Kiffin will coach Ole Miss in the postseason remains unsettled; the timeline provided by Ole Miss AD suggests a decision may come after the Egg Bowl but has not been finalized.
• The precise composition of the five highest-ranked conference champions that will secure automatic berths cannot be known until conference title games conclude; current rankings are a projection, not a guarantee.
• Predictions that specific 11-1 matchups (for example, Texas Tech vs. BYU in a Big 12 title) will produce two playoff bids are conditional and depend on committee evaluation and other conferences’ outcomes.

Bottom Line

This Week 13 CFP ranking freeze highlights the fragility of bubble positions and the outsized importance of the final regular-season games and conference title contests. A small set of matchups — notably Michigan at Ohio State and Texas at Texas A&M — could rearrange multiple at-large cases and shift who is considered a near-lock versus a casualty of the expanded format.

Group-of-Five and mid-major teams maintain slim but real paths, primarily by winning their conference and hoping committee calculus and other Power Five results create openings. For fans and teams, the next two weekends are less about the committee’s present order and more about producing the résumé-changing wins that the committee values most.

Sources

• The New York Times — coverage of Week 13 CFP rankings (news outlet)
• College Football Playoff — official rankings and committee materials (official)
• ESPN College Football — committee comments and reporting (sports news)