Winners and Losers of the Week 11 College Football Playoff Rankings

The second edition of the 2026 College Football Playoff rankings has provided a notable facelift in the Top Five.

Georgia has risen to No. 1 after dismantling Ole Miss on the road, aided by Miami's loss at Notre Dame—which also emerged as one of the biggest winners in the latest Top 25 from the CFP selection committee.

The same, however, cannot be said for the ACC at large.

Nevertheless, our standard disclaimer applies: This order is destined to change. We still have three weeks remaining in the regular season, and some disagreements will naturally work themselves out in Week 11 and beyond.

Each release is a snapshot of the season, though, and we've parsed the rankings for a handful of notable takeaways.

Week 11 CFP Top 25

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Devon Dampier

1. Georgia
2. Utah
3. Alabama
4. UCLA
5. Notre Dame
6. Texas
7. Miami
8. Tennessee
9. Indiana
10. BYU
11. Kentucky
12. Texas Tech
13. Wake Forest
14. Houston
15. Iowa
16. Oregon
17. South Carolina
18. USC
19. Ole Miss
20. Ohio State
21. LSU
22. Missouri
23. Arizona
24. Boise State
25. Oklahoma State

Poll released on CFP Rankings Show.

Winner: Big 12 Depth

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Drew Mestemaker

On one hand, you can be critical about the placement of Big 12 teams.

No. 12 Texas Tech, at 8-1, is right behind two-loss Kentucky. No. 23 Arizona, at 7-2, trails a smattering of three-loss programs, and Oklahoma State—which owns a head-to-head victory over 16th-ranked Oregon—is the final team in the Top 25.

Unlike the ACC, however—and more on that league shortly—the Big 12 can take solace in the simple fact of having five schools in the ranking.

In short: It means the committee actually has some respect for the conference.

Utah is second nationally, while BYU is 10th and Houston is 14th. Neither of the latter have a ranked opponent left on their respective slates, either.

At this moment, the Big 12 has a very realistic path to a pair of CFP invitations.

Loser: New Mexico's Absence

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Kiefer Sibley

As a reminder, the highest-ranked Group of Six program will automatically earn a spot in the 2026 College Football Playoff. That doesn't necessarily need to be a G6 conference champion, though it likely will be.

Boise State, as it stands, is the team to beat.

The lone G6 school included in last week's ranking at No. 25, Boise State merely rose to 24th on Tuesday. No other G6 team appeared in the ranking.

We know the CFP is heavily slanted toward power-conference schools. That has been abundantly clear for years.

But what else does New Mexico need to accomplish? The squad is 8-1 with only an eight-point loss on the road to Oklahoma—which, sure, isn't an awesome team in 2026 yet was good enough to beat sixth-ranked Texas, plus Florida last week.

Instead, the Lobos are unranked as seven 6-3 teams made the Top 25.

Winner: Tennessee's Ascent

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DeSean Bishop

Checking in 13th—the very middle of the Top 25—in the initial poll, Tennessee rightfully should have been perplexed at its position last week.

Yes, the Vols had fallen at South Carolina days before. Sure, there was a setback to Texas on their résumé. The CFP committee probably could have justified a dozen different orders in the 5-15 range, as well.

But eight spots behind No. 5 Alabama, a team UT throttled in October?

Every single week, I'll say something to this effect: Take care of your own business and the rest takes care of itself. Tennessee offered a clear reminder of that reality, shredding No. 6 Kentucky in Week 10 and rising to eighth in Tuesday's update.

While the gap between third-ranked Bama and the No. 8 Vols is still laughable, Tennessee is nowhere near panic mode. Keep winning, and it'll be fine.

Loser: ACC Respect

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I'm not saying the CFP committee doesn't like the ACC, but I wouldn't expect a marriage proposal anytime soon.

Miami went on the road without its star receiver against a now-No. 5 Notre Dame team, clawed back within a possession and was a near-catch in the end zone from tying the game. The penalty? Fall six spots, settling one behind Texas—which has losses to a pair of 5-4 teams in Oklahoma and Florida.

Wake Forest holds an identical 8-1 record to Miami, only lost to that very Miami roster and is ranked 13th—behind five two-loss programs. SMU and Duke, which are both 7-2, couldn't crack the Top 25 over seven 6-3 teams.

I'm not saying it's indefensible. It's also worth an eye roll or three.

Saturday at noon ET, Miami hosts Duke as Wake Forest plays at SMU. Next week's update will reveal just how much the committee even considers those quality results for the winners.

Winner: Notre Dame's Move

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Micah Gilbert

Last week, the biggest loser was Notre Dame.

Thanks to a win over top-ranked Miami, however, the Fighting Irish land in the opposite category this time around. They soared to fifth in Tuesday's ranking.

An essential result in Week 10 was BYU's loss to Utah. The committee didn't have much respect for BYU's résumé, placing the Cougars ninth in the initial CFP Top 25. Without a signature win and with a loss to BYU, Notre Dame landed 11th.

Utah's win, however, meant 7-2 BYU's head-to-head victory was less impactful.

Throw in a major correction for Indiana and natural leap of Miami, and the Fighting Irish are positioned for a CFP trip if they win out.