College Football Playoff Top 25 Rankings for Week 10 Announced

It's official: the first College Football Playoff top 25 rankings have been released

It's officially official. The selection committee has convened and announced its first College Football Playoff top 25 rankings for the 2022 season.

And with much to discuss in the conference room, too. Namely, the position of two SEC East rivals: Georgia and Tennessee, who both have a case for being the No. 1 team in the country after starting the season undefeated.

Georgia is college football's defending national champion, playing behind another elite defense, while Tennessee is the surprise team of the season, knocking down opponents with the nation's No. 1 total offense, including Alabama in arguably the single most important statement by any team this season.

We'll know about that two-team race later this week, when the Dawgs and Vols square off on the same field in a "Game of the Century" matchup down south.

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Outside of the SEC, contenders Ohio State and Michigan are still perfect and seemingly headed for a major showdown in late November, while TCU is favored to win the Big 12 title and USC is locked in with a few competitors for Pac-12 honors.

Where do things stand in the first official top rankings? Here's your look at the debut poll by the CFP selection committee as we head into Week 10.

College Football Playoff top 25 rankings for Week 10

According to the College Football Playoff Selection Committee

25. UCF. Coming off a win over ranked Cincinnati, the Knights have a real shot to make a run at the AAC.

24. Texas. Some love for the 5-3 Longhorns from the College Football Playoff pickers, and with two dates against ranked teams to make an impression.

23. Oregon State. For the first time ever, the Beavers made the CFP top 25 rankings.

22. NC State. No more Devin Leary at quarterback and some tough games still to come, the Wolfpack are a question mark out of the ACC.

21. Wake Forest. Sam Hartman threw two pick-sixes in a bad loss at Louisville, but the Deacs are still 6-2 and have room to improve before the postseason.

Compare and contrast: AP top 25 college football rankings for Week 10

20. Syracuse. A surprise contender from the ACC this season, two straight losses have hampered the Orange's progress, but this is still a talented team.

19. Tulane. The new favorite in the AAC after starting 7-1 on the year.

18. Oklahoma State. A physical defense and Spencer Sanders' career marks still aren't enough to put the Pokes in contention, now at two losses.

17. North Carolina. Drake Maye is one of college football's best passers and has the Heels seemingly a lock for the Coastal Division.

16. Illinois. At 7-1 for the first time since 2001, the Illini boast one of college football's best rushing offenses and are the favorites in the Big Ten West.

15. Penn State. Now 0-2 against the class of the Big Ten East, the Nittany Lions still aren't there yet, but are always seemingly on the cusp.

14. Utah. The defending Pac-12 champs are at two losses already, but have a win over ranked USC and are still playing physical football on both sides of the line.

13. Kansas State. The Wildcats own a statement win over Oklahoma State and are one of the top rushing offenses in the nation sitting at No. 2 in the Big 12 standings.

12. UCLA. DTR and Zach Charbonnet present a legit 1-2 threat on offense and there's still an outside shot at the Pac-12 title.

11. Ole Miss. The Rebels have a chance to make a run at the SEC West with a date at home against Alabama coming up, but a loss at LSU still sticks out.

Outside looking in

10. LSU. The highest-ranked two-loss team, the Tigers have a chance to move into the driver's seat in the SEC West if they beat Alabama this week.

9. USC. At one loss to a ranked Utah, the Trojans boast a credible offensive threat against any team, but have questions on defense.

8. Oregon. Since the loss to Georgia, the Ducks have won seven straight and have scored 40-plus each time out. But that Week 1 loss does stick out.

7. TCU. The last undefeated team in the Big 12, the Horned Frogs have played some close games, but are still in position to make a run at the playoff. Clearly, the committee is not impressed with that conference, though.

First two out

6. Alabama. The one-loss Crimson Tide has no room for error going forward with some tough games still to come, but this is still the favorite in the SEC West.

5. Michigan. One of college football's premier rushing attacks, the Wolverines have passed every test so far and could be undefeated going into The Game.

First four in

4. Clemson. Still perfect and the ACC's only chance at the playoff, the Tigers have made important strides offensively, but this still doesn't look like the Clemson teams of the early CFP era. An important game at Notre Dame is up next.

3. Georgia. Something of a surprise in the CFP rankings, the Bulldogs are No. 2 in the AP poll, but don't live up to the billing according to the committee selectors. There were two close games against Kent State and Missouri, but this is still college football's second-best offense and a top 5 defense.

2. Ohio State. CJ Stroud and those receivers command one of the most efficient and productive offenses in the nation, and the Buckeyes are still the class of the Big Ten.

1. Tennessee. Consensus opinion has Big Orange is the best team in college football, playing behind the sport's pre-eminent offense, but a huge date against Georgia is upcoming to help sort out the SEC East.

College Football Playoff Rankings Criteria

College Football Playoff selectors create top 25 rankings based on their evaluation of teams’ performance on the field.

The committee employs several metrics to select the best teams.

• Strength of schedule
• Head-to-head game results
• Results vs. teams in top 25 rankings
• Results vs. common opponents
• Conference championships

College Football Playoff electors also use advanced analytics to gauge teams’ play, but those numbers don’t play a formal role in the committee creating its top 25 rankings.

College Football Playoff 2022-23 Schedule

Dec. 31, 2022 Fiesta Bowl

Dec. 31, 2022 Peach Bowl

Jan. 9, 2023 National Championship

This is the ninth year that college football has a playoff system, which replaced the former Bowl Championship Series (BCS) ahead of the 2014 season.

Ohio State won the first championship under the current system. Alabama (2015, ’17, ’20) and Clemson (2016 and ’18) are the only programs to win multiple titles in the playoff era.

Here's a rundown of every College Football Playoff to date.

2014

Rose Bowl — No. 2 Oregon 59, No. 3 Florida State 20

Sugar Bowl — No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 1 Alabama 35

CFP National Championship — No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 2 Oregon 20

2015

Orange Bowl — No. 1 Clemson 37, No. 4 Oklahoma 17

Cotton Bowl — No. 2 Alabama 38, No. 3 Michigan State 0

CFP National Championship — No. 2 Alabama 45, No. 1 Clemson 40

2016

Fiesta Bowl — No. 2 Clemson 31, No. 3 Ohio State 0

Peach Bowl — No. 1 Alabama 24, No. 4 Washington 7

CFP National Championship — No. 2 Clemson 35, No. 1 Alabama 31

2017

Rose Bowl — No. 3 Georgia 54, No. 2 Oklahoma 48 ( 2 OT)

Sugar Bowl — No. 4 Alabama 24, No. 1 Clemson 6

CFP National Championship — No. 4 Alabama 26, No. 3 Georgia (OT)

2018

Orange Bowl — No. 1 Alabama 45, No. 4 Oklahoma 34

Cotton Bowl — No. 2 Clemson 30, No. 3 Notre Dame 3

CFP National Championship — No. 2 Clemson 44, No. 1 Alabama 16

2019

Peach Bowl — No. 1 LSU 63, No. 4 Oklahoma 28

Fiesta Bowl — No. 3 Clemson 29, No. 2 Ohio State 23

CFP National Championship — No. 1 LSU 42, No. 3 Clemson 25

2020

Rose Bowl — No. 1 Alabama 31, No. 4 Notre Dame 14

Sugar Bowl — No. 3 Ohio State 49, No. 2 Clemson 28

CFP National Championship — No. 1 Alabama 52, No. 3 Ohio State 24

2021

Cotton Bowl — No. 1 Alabama 27, No. 4 Cincinnati 6

Orange Bowl — No. 3 Georgia 34, No. 2 Michigan 11

CFP National Championship — No. 3 Georgia 33, No. 1 Alabama 18

College Football Playoff Rankings History

Let's look at every final Top 4 College Football Playoff rankings, with the eventual national champion listed in bold.

2014-15

1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Florida State
4. Ohio State

2015-16

1. Clemson
2. Alabama
3. Michigan State
4. Oklahoma

2016-17

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Ohio State
4. Washington

2017-18

1. Clemson
2. Oklahoma
3. Georgia
4. Alabama

2018-19

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Notre Dame
4. Oklahoma

2019-20

1. LSU
2. Ohio State
3. Clemson
4. Oklahoma

2020-21

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Ohio State
4. Notre Dame

2021-22

1. Alabama
2. Michigan
3. Georgia
4. Cincinnati

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