When the College Football Playoff rankings will be released today

Rivalry Week is in the rear view, and now Championship Saturday is upon us, with college football still to make some very consequential decisions in its first taste of the 2025 postseason, but already the selection committee faces some big questions heading into this weekend.

For starters, how to re-arrange the best teams in the SEC after soon-to-be-former No. 3 Texas A&M lost its first game of the season at precisely the worst time.

Alabama took out Auburn to stay in the bracket, and will face Georgia for the SEC championship, and both are due for a rise at the Aggies' expense.

Texas Tech and BYU are booked for a rematch in the Big 12 title bout, and the Big Ten champ will be decided between two undefeated teams in Ohio State or Indiana.

And while the committee has consistently ranked Miami as its best ACC team, that conference champion will be either Virginia or 7-5 Duke in a very curious turn of events there.

When will the selectors reveal their choices? Here’s the full schedule for when the College Football Playoff rankings will go live today, and for the rest of the 2025 season.

When the College Football Playoff rankings come out

The selection committee will reveal its fourth edition of the College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. Eastern time and you can see them live on the ESPN network.

College Football Playoff rankings schedule for 2025

All times Eastern

CFP rankings release No. 1
Tues., Nov. 4 at 8 p.m.

CFP rankings release No. 2
Tues., Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.

And: What the second CFP rankings looked like

CFP rankings release No. 3
Tues., Nov. 18 at 8:30 p.m.

More context: What the third CFP rankings looked like

CFP rankings release No. 4
Tues., Nov. 25 at 7 p.m.

Read here: What the fourth CFP rankings looked like

CFP rankings release No. 5
Tues., Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.

Selection Sunday
Sun., Dec. 7 at 12 p.m.

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

How the rankings are made

According to the College Football Playoff guidelines, the selection committee ranks teams based on the members’ evaluation of teams’ play on the field using a number of metrics to decide among teams that are comparable.

The committee’s 13 members then create their own list of 30 teams they believe are the best in college football. Those groups of teams, in no special order, are further ranked when three or more members agree on their selections.

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