CFP bracket expands to 12-team field in updated College Football Playoff rankings

The latest College Football Playoff rankings were unveiled on Tuesday, Dec. 2, bringing some notable shifts to the 12-team field despite a relatively quiet rivalry week.

The most significant changes occurred in the No. 3-5 positions after Texas A&M's loss to Texas on Black Friday. Georgia climbed to the former No. 3 spot, while Texas Tech and Oregon filled out the top five. Texas A&M dropped to No. 7.

The top two seeds remained unchanged, with No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana holding their positions. These teams are set to face off for the top seed in the Big Ten Championship game on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 8 p.m. ET at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Ole Miss also saw a slight adjustment, moving up to No. 6 following the top-seven shuffle, despite the departure of Lane Kiffin to LSU. Offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. will continue leading Ole Miss through the CFP.

Another adjustment in the bracket involved Alabama and Notre Dame, swapping positions to occupy the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds. Alabama, as the No. 9 seed, heads into the SEC Championship against Georgia with some margin for error.

The official College Football Playoff bracket will be finalized on Sunday, Dec. 7, at noon ET. The first-round matchups will take place on Friday, Dec. 19, and Saturday, Dec. 20, hosted by the four highest-ranked at-large seeds.

Projected CFP First Round

• Byes: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Texas Tech
• Note: Virginia and Tulane are tentatively assigned No. 11 and No. 12, contingent on winning the ACC and American Conference championships as the top teams outside the top 12.

Projected CFP Quarterfinals

• No. 4 Texas Tech vs. Winner of No. 5 Oregon / No. 12 Tulane
• No. 1 Ohio State vs. Winner of No. 8 Oklahoma / No. 9 Alabama
• No. 3 Georgia vs. Winner of No. 6 Ole Miss / No. 11 Virginia
• No. 2 Indiana vs. Winner of No. 7 Texas A&M / No. 10 Notre Dame

Top 25 CFP Rankings (Dec. 2 Release)

The full top 25 rankings will set the stage for the upcoming playoff matchups and first-round pairings.

Upcoming CFP Schedule

• Monday, Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium (Game 11, Miami): 7:30 p.m. ET

Author: Sophia Brooks