CFP Chair Discusses How Championship Saturday Will Impact Final Rankings

Hunter Yurachek explained the College Football Playoff selection committee’s process for championship Saturday.

CFP selection committee chair Hunter Yurachek joined 'College GameDay’ to discuss championship Saturday. / Screengrab via ESPN

Championship Saturday is upon us with six of the top 11 teams in the committee’s latest College Football Playoff rankings in action.

To start off the day, No. 11 BYU is playing No. 4 Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship for a CFP berth. A loss makes things complicated for the Cougars, who are right on the cut line. The Red Raiders should get in no matter the result, but a win all but secures Texas Tech a first-round bye.

No. 9 Alabama plays No. 3 Georgia for the SEC title Saturday night. The Crimson Tide have some wiggle room, but a loss to Georgia will force the selection committee to make a decision against other teams who are not in action Saturday and remain on the bubble. Ahead of Saturday’s action, CFP selection committee chair Hunter Yurachek joined ESPN’s College GameDay to discuss how conference championship results will impact Sunday’s final rankings and the CFP field.

“We’ll evaluate the results of [the Big 12, Big Ten and SEC championship] games, as well as the ACC championship game, re-rank those teams one last time and the five highest ranked conference champions and the seven highest ranked at-large teams will make the pool,” Yurachek said Saturday.

.@ReceDavis and CFP selection committee chair Hunter Yurachek discuss how the committee will evaluate the results of this weekend's conference championships and how those could impact Sunday's rankings ✍️ pic.twitter.com/6Q2TvFFKEY

— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) December 6, 2025

Notre Dame and Miami sit on the bubble, but neither play an extra game Saturday. The Fighting Irish and Hurricanes have similar résumés, but Miami defeated Notre Dame in the first game of the season. Now, both schools sit at 10-2, while the Irish have won 10 games in a row and sit two spots ahead of Miami in the current CFP rankings. Because neither side has an opportunity to prove its case Saturday, Yurachek was asked how teams not playing a conference championship game could see a change in their final ranking.

“There will be some impact on what the record strength of teams will be, what the schedule strength of teams will be,” he said. “There will be a different in the win-loss record, potentially common opponents and of course the head-to-head metrics. And watching those games, we’ll use all those tools in our tool box to re-rank those teams tonight and in the early morning hours.”

Virginia and Duke will meet for the ACC championship Saturday. Neither Miami or Notre Dame played either of those teams this season, but the result could impact strength of schedule in the Irish and Hurricanes’ respective résumés.

Alabama jumped in front of Notre Dame last week despite both teams winning its regular-season finale. Yurachek said the debate between the Tide and Irish has been one of the strongest for the committee, but the committee was impressed with Alabama’s road win over rival Auburn compared to Notre Dame’s road victory against Stanford.

With a few contests remaining to build a final case for the CFP, the selection committee is keeping its options open to build the field that will play for a national championship.

---

More College Football on Sports Illustrated

FREE NEWSLETTER. SI BTN Newsletter. Start off your day with SI:CYMI. dark

feed