Georgia Takes Over No. 1 in the Second CFP Rankings as Utah Reaches No. 2 and Indiana Falls to No. 9

IRVING, Texas. Georgia is back on top. The College Football Playoff selection committee released its second rankings of the 2026 season Tuesday night, and the Bulldogs (8-1) moved from No. 2 to No. 1, replacing a Miami team that lost to Notre Dame on Saturday. Unbeaten Utah (9-0) is No. 2, Alabama (7-2) is No. 3 and unbeaten UCLA (9-0) is No. 4. Those four would get first-round byes if the bracket were set today.

The biggest move in the other direction belonged to Indiana. The Hoosiers (8-1) fell five spots, from No. 4 to No. 9, in a week when they had an open date, ESPN noted. Notre Dame (8-1) went the other way, from No. 11 to No. 5, after its 31-24 win over Miami. The CFP said no team had ever jumped from outside the top 10 into the top five in one week.

The top four

Georgia earned the top spot with a 42-7 win at Ole Miss that snapped the Rebels' 16-game home winning streak, according to Georgia Athletics. It is the Bulldogs' 16th week at No. 1 in the CFP era, second only to Alabama's 24, the CFP said. Next up for Georgia is Missouri.

Utah's No. 2 ranking is the highest in program history, topping the No. 3 spot the Utes held a week ago. They stayed perfect with a 28-20 win over BYU on Saturday. UCLA's climb from No. 8 to No. 4 is also a program best after a 34-20 win at Minnesota. The Utes and Bruins are the only undefeated teams left in the FBS, and the CFP noted that two unbeaten teams in a season's second ranking matches the fewest in CFP history, first seen in 2014.

Alabama rose from No. 5 to No. 3 after a 31-13 win at LSU. According to the CFP, this is the earliest a two-loss team has been in the top four. The previous earliest was Auburn on Nov. 28, 2017. Committee chair Hunter Yurachek explained it on ESPN's rankings show.

"They're No. 1 in record strength, No. 1 in schedule strength," Yurachek said of the Crimson Tide, per ESPN. "Alabama we believe deserves to be the No. 3 team in the country."

Movers in the top 12

Yurachek was just as direct about the Irish. "They looked like the Notre Dame team that should be ranked No. 5. They were up 24-3 and dominating that game," he said. ESPN noted that Notre Dame is guaranteed a playoff spot if it finishes in the top 12 of the final rankings, with Boston College, SMU and Syracuse left on its schedule.

Texas (7-2) moved up one spot to No. 6. Miami (8-1) dropped six spots to No. 7, which puts the top team from the ACC behind multiple two-loss SEC teams, per ESPN. Tennessee (7-2) jumped five spots to No. 8 after a 34-6 win over Kentucky. BYU (7-2) slipped just one spot to No. 10, Kentucky (7-2) fell five spots to No. 11 and Texas Tech (8-1) rose three spots to No. 12.

Indiana's drop will be argued about all week. The defending national champions did not play and now sit behind two-loss Tennessee. They host No. 18 USC this week, Indiana Athletics noted.

The projected bracket

Because five conference champions are guaranteed spots in the 12-team field, No. 24 Boise State, the highest-ranked Group of Six team, would replace Texas Tech as the 12th seed, ESPN reported. Seeding follows the committee's Top 25, and ESPN's bracket based on Tuesday's rankings sets up these first-round games:

No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Notre Dame, with the winner facing No. 4 UCLA.

No. 11 Kentucky at No. 6 Texas, with the winner facing No. 3 Alabama.

No. 10 BYU at No. 7 Miami, with the winner facing No. 2 Utah.

No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Tennessee, with the winner facing No. 1 Georgia.

First-round games are played on campus Dec. 18 and 19, and the national championship is Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, per ESPN.

The rest of the Top 25

Wake Forest (8-1) is the first team out at No. 13, up three spots. Houston is No. 14, its highest CFP ranking ever, followed by Iowa at No. 15 and Oregon at No. 16. The Ducks made the week's biggest jump, seven spots, after a 41-28 win over Ohio State. The Buckeyes (6-3) fell eight spots to No. 20.

Ole Miss dropped nine spots to No. 19 and LSU fell seven to No. 21. Oklahoma State entered at No. 25, its first appearance in the rankings since 2023, and Florida dropped out after a loss to Oklahoma.

What comes next

The committee meets again Nov. 16 and 17 and will reveal its third rankings on Tuesday, Nov. 17, at about 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. The final rankings, which set the bracket, come out Sunday, Dec. 6. The CFP is also reviewing a proposed 24-team format for 2027, but this season's field stays at 12.

For the full list, see the committee's official release and ESPN's rankings story and bracket breakdown.

Sources: College Football Playoff, ESPN, Georgia Athletics, Indiana Athletics. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Tony Walsh/UGAAA (file photo from Oct. 31, 2026, vs. Florida)