The College Football Playoff rankings continue to hammer home just how imperfect this year’s selection committee is. Head to head doesn’t seem to matter. Schedule strength metrics only seem to mean anything if you played a team within the last few weeks thanks to ridiculous recency bias. And worst of all, it seems the committee is setting the stage for Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss to completely shake up the whole bracket if he does indeed leave. In case you missed it here are this week’s official bracket seeding:

1. Ohio State Buckeyes
2. Indiana Hoosiers
3. Texas A&M Aggies
4. Georgia Bulldogs
5. Texas Tech Red Raiders
6. Oregon Ducks
7. Ole Miss Rebels
8. Oklahoma Sooners
9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
10. Alabama Crimson Tide
11. Miami Hurricanes
12. Tulane Green Wave

Our team at A to Z Sports has decided to do our own top 25 playoff rankings every week since the committee continues to disappoint. We’ll break down various pain points where we disagree overall, then, staff members who cover many of the teams involved will lay out their arguments for or against the current playoff seeding. Enjoy!

A to Z Top 25 College Football Playoff Rankings

1. Ohio State (Playoff Seed: 1)
2. Indiana (2)
3. Texas A&M (3)
4. Georgia (4)
5. Ole Miss (5)
6. Oregon (6)
7. Texas Tech (7)
8. Oklahoma (8)
9. Notre Dame (9)
10. Alabama (10)
11. Vanderbilt
12. Utah
13. BYU
14. Miami (11)
15. Texas
16. Michigan
17. Tennessee
18. Virginia
19. James Madison (12)
20. North Texas
21. USC
22. Georgia Tech
23. Tulane
24. Pittsburgh
25. SMU

The top four seeds have become quite predictable from the committee and our A to Z Sports staff seems to agree that Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, and Georgia deserve the top spots. However, things get messy right after that.

Our staff still ranks the Ole Miss Rebels fifth in the country because they defeated Oklahoma and Tulane (both solid ranked teams), boasting near equal or superior schedule metrics to the Oregon Ducks and Texas Tech. Plus, their only loss came to No. 4 Georgia in Athens, by one possession. It seems the committee forgot that the Rebels scored five touchdowns in a row that game. Or it’s just that they’re setting the table for Lane Kiffin’s embarrassingly villainous departure to shove the Rebels further down the rankings.

Committee’s have done some wild things before (like leaving out undefeated Florida State) because of player personnel changes, but it would be absolutely indefensible to drop Ole Miss because of a coaching change. Still, given that the committee obviously doesn’t want them ranked very high already, they might actually do it, shaking up the entire bracket. Dropping Ole Miss inexplicably further could take away a home game from them, then gift it to one of Oklahoma (even though the Rebels beat them), Notre Dame, or Alabama. That could drastically change first round dynamics. Hopefully the committee doesn’t do anything flat out unethical like that, but it’s been a strange year.

The committee also seems fairly committed to keeping Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Alabama in as long as they take care of business in the final week. It doesn’t seem to matter at all that Miami beat Notre Dame. BYU’s inevitable 11-1 record heading into championship week is apparently going to mean nothing. And Vanderbilt’s 10-2 record against a tough schedule also apparently holds virtually no weight with the committee. Some extremely good teams are just going to get left out. Regardless, here’s how our team would currently shape up the playoff bracket.

(1) Ohio State Buckeyes

“Ohio State’s matchup with Michigan is an important one for multiple reasons. Ryan Day has 81 wins and just 10 losses as the Buckeyes’ head coach, but four of those losses have come against Michigan over the last four years. If the Buckeyes beat Michigan, they’ll advance to the Big Ten Championship, giving them a chance to win the conference and secure a first round bye in the College Football Playoff. A loss — either to Michigan or in the conference title game — would likely drop Ohio State from a first round bye to hosting a first round College Football Playoff game. Saturday is a big one in Ann Arbor, and as always, it’s one week at a time for this team. Ohio State controls its own destiny, just as it’s expected to in Columbus.” – Brandon Little, A to Z Sports Ohio State

(2) Indiana Hoosiers

“The only thing standing in the way of Indiana and the Big Ten title game is its rival, Purdue. Win this game, and they will get a shot to play Ohio State, Michigan, or Oregon for the Big Ten title. Winning the Big Ten would all but cement Indiana as the one seed in the College Football Playoff, giving them a first round bye. A loss would make things a bit trickier, as they could finish anywhere from the three seed to the five, which would likely require them to play an opening round game in Bloomington.” – Destin Adams, A to Z Sports Indianapolis

(3) Texas A&M Aggies

“The path forward for Texas A&M is pretty straightforward. To get to the one or two seed, they simply have to win and then sit back and root for chaos. If A&M takes care of business against the Longhorns on Friday, they’ve booked their flights for the SEC Championship Game. Winning that over any of Georgia, Alabama, or Ole Miss should put them into the two seed regardless, but will be helped further with a likely Ohio State-Indiana Big Ten Championship showdown. One of those two teams will have to lose, giving the Aggies the prime opportunity to grab that open seed. If Michigan happens to take down Ohio State this weekend (never say never with The Game) and then turns around to beat up on Indiana in the conference championship game, Texas A&M would almost assuredly be the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. Depending on the results of this weekend, getting that top seed could give A&M a rematch with Notre Dame or a potential Big 12 rematch against Oklahoma for their first playoff game. Head coach Mike Elko has repeatedly emphasized that A&M can only control what they can control in an effort to blot out the noise, but it’s hard not to be excited about what could be for the Aggies this season with just a little bit of chaos.” – AJ Schulte, A to Z Sports Oklahoma

(4) Georgia Bulldogs

The Georgia Bulldogs still need some help in the form of a Texas A&M or Alabama Crimson Tide loss if they want to make it to the SEC Championship Game, but they’re in the College Football Playoff regardless at this point. The question will be, is it possible for them to secure a first round bye? The Bulldogs likely take care of business against a Georgia Tech team that has lost two of their last three games, but if they don’t make it to their conference championship, will a team like Texas Tech possibly shove them down to the five spot? That shouldn’t be the case considering how well Kirby Smart has his Bulldogs playing now that they’ve found a pass rush. Still, the committee will likely fold due to recency bias once again and punish Georgia for not making it to their championship game because that’s just how this committee seems to roll (without much logic). – Travis May, A to Z Sports College Football & NFL Draft Managing Editor

(5) Ole Miss Rebels

“For Ole Miss, I think the seventh overall ranking makes the most sense for them right now following a ranked win for Oregon over USC and the strong overall resume for Texas Tech that already pushed them up the board for the committee. If the Rebels take care of business in the Egg Bowl, I don’t see the committee punishing them — even if Lane Kiffin does head elsewhere before the College Football Playoff begins. I just don’t think that makes a ton of sense and would heavily punish the players who have put themselves in a position to potentially host a playoff matchup. The committee has been full of surprises in the past, though, so never rule anything out.” – Adam Holt, A to Z Sports New Orleans

(6) Oregon Ducks

The Oregon Ducks should be ranked below Ole Miss (despite what our staffer Adam thinks). Yes, the Ducks beat a USC team that they were expected to beat (which is double counting), but they also got dominated at home by Indiana. Meanwhile Ole Miss’ only loss is to Georgia at home, a game the Rebels controlled for over three quarters. Dan Lanning and company are trying to get as healthy as possible ahead of the playoff and likely miss out on the Big Ten Championship Game. If they sneak in there due to a collapse from Ohio State against Michigan (again), they might end up deserving something higher than the six seed, but that’s probably not happening. – Travis May, A to Z Sports College Football & NFL Draft Managing Editor

(7) Texas Tech Red Raiders

The Red Raiders have done just about all they can against their wildly soft schedule, but they still don’t deserve to be ranked fifth by the committee. The committee is obviously setting them up for a first round bye just because they want that to happen for some reason, but their strength of record and schedule metrics just don’t hold up. This squad ranks outside the top 70 in most every meaningful offensive metric. Thank goodness for their elite pass rush featuring two future NFL Draft picks in David Bailey and Romello Height. Otherwise this team wouldn’t even be deserving of the seven seed. – Travis May, A to Z Sports College Football & NFL Draft Managing Editor

(8) Oklahoma Sooners

“The Oklahoma Sooners have the most AP Ranked wins in the country, which is enough for me to rank them above teams with worse strength of schedules who have the same number of losses, like Notre Dame. They’ve done everything they’ve been asked to do, and then some. They had a “good” loss to Texas in a rivalry game that can go either way, since their quarterback was fresh off of surgery. Against Ole Miss, they had a chance to beat a top five team, but fell just short. They have the resume to be a top eight team in the country.” – Justin Churchill, A to Z Sports Oklahoma

(9) Notre Dame Fighting Irish

“The debate surrounding Notre Dame football in the playoff ranking has become a pretty exhausting one. They are one to two plays away from being considered arguably the best team in the country right now, and since losing against Texas A&M in week two, they have routinely dominated every team in front of them, even the two ranked opponents that they have faced. There has to be some level of eye test to this debate, especially when comparing against a team like Oklahoma. Not only does Notre Dame have a very good defense that has been improving throughout the season, but they also have one of the better offenses they’ve had in several years. Discount them if you’d like, but on a neutral field, this is one of the most complete teams in college football.” – Ryan Roberts, A to Z Sports Notre Dame

(10) Alabama Crimson Tide

“It’s hard to argue the case for Alabama moving up in the CFP rankings this week after no surprises in front of the Crimson Tide. Sure, they dominated Eastern Illinois, but that’s not going to move the needle at this point in the season. What will, however, is going out and dominating in the Iron Bowl and punching a ticket to Atlanta to play in the SEC Championship. We can debate Notre Dame being in front of Alabama until we are blue in the face, but all Alabama has to worry about is the game this Saturday. Because with a pair of big wins, the Crimson Tide will be undeniable.” – Rob Gregson, A to Z Sports Alabama

(11) Miami Hurricanes

“I guess I’ll be the fair one here (and apparent outlier) and put Miami ahead of Notre Dame. Utah dropped in my rankings, but they had to after allowing 472 rushing yards to squeak by a 5-6 team. The Canes and Irish are now close enough with comparable resumes to do what’s fair, whether Miami makes it to Charlotte or not. I said it before and I’ll say it again, if you’re comparing losses between two teams with the same record and similar resumes, and one of those teams’ losses is to the team it’s being compared to, what are we even doing here? Common sense and fairness have to win out.” – Craig Smith, A to Z Sports Tennessee

(12) James Madison Dukes

“We are looking at a really interesting Group of Five selection for the College Football Playoff. There are four teams realistically in the running: James Madison, North Texas, Tulane, Navy. The Midshipmen need some help to get there and a win in the American Championship Game. It’s certainly still possible, but they also need James Madison to lose as well, which has only happened against Louisville this year. The Dukes are one of the better teams in college football this season. They are 26th in SP+, only behind North Texas at 18th, but they have played great football across the board. They are eighth in adjusted EPA per play, and look the part on both sides of the ball. There are two things that could hold them back: The Dukes won’t have a good team to beat in the Sun Belt title game, and their only defensive weakness is allowing explosive plays, where they are one of the worst in the country, especially against the run. Even with a strong final two games, it might not be enough, even though it should be.” – Tyler Forness, A to Z Sports Florida

We’ll be back with more College Football coverage here at A to Z Sports every day of the year! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!