College football rankings: When the Top 25 polls are released
Another week of the college football schedule is in the books, and that means it's time to get updated on the latest top 25 rankings.
At this point in the season, there are two official rankings that come out every week: the AP top 25 and the Coaches Poll.
Later in the season, starting in November, the College Football Playoff selection committee reveals its official top 25 rankings, that will directly slot CFP semifinal teams and New Year's bowl matchups.
Here's what you need to know about the rankings schedule this week.
College football rankings: When the Top 25 polls are released
What you need to know about the top 25 college football rankings schedule
First up, the Coaches Poll will be announced at or around 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday after the eligible coaches cast their ballots for the top 25 teams.
From there, the Associated Press will announce its official top 25 rankings at or around 2 p.m. Eastern on Sunday afternoon after official voters submit their ballots to the AP to be counted.
Keep in mind, however: much like the football rankings themselves, their scheduled release time isn't an exact science.
These are estimated times and occasionally the ranking services can be early or late, by as much as 15-30 minutes each week.
Sometimes, ballots arrive late or there are technical issues in calculating them, but both polls are usually released around the times listed.
Whenever they do come out, you can find the AP top 25, the Coaches Poll, and the official College Football Playoff rankings here on CFBHQ.
Looking for the official Playoff Rankings? Here's your schedule for when the College Football Playoff committee releases its top 25 poll.
How the AP top 25 rankings are made
Voters designated by the AP to take part in the poll first create a list of what they consider the 25 best teams in the country.
From there, they assign each team a number of points, awarding the best team the most number of points, which is 25.
They give the second-lowest number to the second-best team, the third-lowest to the third-best team, etc.
- No. 1 team: 25 points
- No. 2 team: 24
- No. 3 team: 23
- No. 4 team: 22
- No. 5 team: 21
- No. 6 team: 20
- No. 7 team: 19
- No. 8 team: 18
- No. 9 team: 17
- No. 10 team: 16
- No. 11 team: 15
- No. 12 team: 14
- No. 13 team: 13
- No. 14 team: 12
- No. 15 team: 11
- No. 16 team: 10
- No. 17 team: 9
- No. 18 team: 8
- No. 19 team: 7
- No. 20 team: 6
- No. 21 team: 5
- No. 22 team: 4
- No. 23 team: 3
- No. 24 team: 2
- No. 25 team: 1
The AP then combines the numerical value of each voter's poll and ranks the teams by number of points in descending order to create the final rankings.
College Football Playoff Rankings Schedule
When does it all become officially official? Let's take a look at when the selection committee will announce their top 25 rankings.
All times Eastern, all on ESPN network
CFP rankings release No. 1 — Tuesday, Nov. 1 at 7-8 p.m. Recap: The first College Football Playoff top 25 rankings
CFP rankings release No. 2 — Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7-8 p.m. Recap: Georgia, Ohio State lead second College Football Playoff rankings
CFP rankings release No. 3 — Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 9-9:30 p.m. Recap: The third College Football Playoff top 25 rankings
CFP rankings release No. 4 — Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 7-8 p.m. Recap: USC, Clemson move into contention in new CFP rankings
CFP rankings release No. 5 — Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 7-7:30 p.m.
Selection Day — Sunday, Dec. 4 at 12-4 p.m.
College Football Playoff 2022-23 Schedule
Dec. 31, 2022 Fiesta Bowl
Dec. 31, 2022 Peach Bowl
Jan. 9, 2023 National Championship