The only college football rankings that truly matter will be revealed tonight as we hear from the College Football Playoff Committee for the first time.
The first of six editions of the CFP rankings will air live on ESPN/the ESPN App at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday evening.
And after a dominant win this weekend at Maryland, Indiana appears certain to be one of the four teams that will receive a bye in the Committee’s initial projection of the field. The Hoosiers did nothing but improve their outlook with a 55-10 dismantling of the Terps.
The No. 2 seed appears to be the most likely seed for the Hoosiers (9-0, 6-0), but No. 1 and No. 3 are at least within the realm of what’s possible.
Getting a No. 1-4 seed means Indiana will get a first round bye.
A new CFP policy implemented in 2025 guarantees the five highest-ranked conference champions a place in the Playoff, but will no longer include a bye for the four highest-ranked champions as was the case a year ago. That format forced Indiana (ranked No. 8 by the CFP) on the road to face Notre Dame. Under the current format IU would have hosted a first round game last season.
In 2025 the 12-team bracket will now be seeded directly based on the final ranking of the CFP Selection Committee, with the four highest-ranked teams receiving a first-round bye. If one or more of the five highest-ranked conference champions are ranked outside the top 12, that team or teams would move up to the 12th seed, 11th seed, etc., based on the number of conference champions outside the top 12.
Getting a first round bye would mean IU would not host a CFP game, and instead play in one of the designated second round bowl sites: Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl. Teams ranked No. 5-8 by the CFP Committee will host the first round games.
IU’s remaining schedule is favorable. They’ll face no teams with a winning record, but there’s a landmine this weekend against a talented and wounded Penn State squad on the road. The Nittany Lions were a preseason top-5 team.
Indiana’s full remaining schedule is as follows. The Hoosiers currently have a strong chance to make the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis, even with one loss:
- at Penn State (3-5)
- vs. Wisconsin (2-6)
- at Purdue (2-7)
- at Big Ten Championship (Dec. 6), if qualify.
Here are the latest CFP projections for Indiana from some of the main national outlets:
USA TODAY: No. 1
New York Times/Athletic: No. 2
Bleacher Report: No. 2
Sports Illustrated: No. 2
CBS Sports: No. 3
On3: No. 2
Andrea Adelson: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Alabama 5. Georgia 6. Ole Miss 7. Oregon 8. BYU 9. Texas Tech 10. Virginia 11. Louisville 12. Memphis
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Alabama 5. Oregon 6. Georgia 7. Ole Miss 8. BYU 9. Texas Tech 10. Notre Dame 11. Virginia 12. North Texas
Bill Connelly: 1. Indiana 2. Ohio State 3. Texas A&M 4. BYU 5. Alabama 6. Texas Tech 7. Ole Miss 8. Oregon 9. Georgia 10. Notre Dame 11. Memphis 12. Virginia
David Hale: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Alabama 5. Georgia 6. BYU 7. Ole Miss 8. Oregon 9. Texas Tech 10. Notre Dame 11. Louisville 12. Memphis
Eli Lederman: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Alabama 5. Oregon 6. Georgia 7. BYU 8. Ole Miss 9. Texas Tech 10. Notre Dame 11. Virginia 12. North Texas
Max Olson: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Alabama 5. Oregon 6. Georgia 7. BYU 8. Ole Miss 9. Texas Tech 10. Notre Dame 11. Virginia 12. North Texas
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Alabama 5. Georgia 6. Ole Miss 7. Oregon 8. BYU 9. Texas Tech 10. Virginia 11. Notre Dame 12. Memphis
Mark Schlabach: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Alabama 5. Georgia 6. Ole Miss 7. Oregon 8. BYU 9. Texas Tech 10. Notre Dame 11. Virginia 12. Memphis
Jake Trotter: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Alabama 5. Georgia 6. Ole Miss 7. Oregon 8. BYU 9. Texas Tech 10. Notre Dame 11. Virginia 12. Memphis
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Alabama 5. Oregon 6. Georgia 7. Ole Miss 8. BYU 9. Texas Tech 10. Notre Dame 11. Virginia 12. Memphis
Dave Wilson: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Alabama 5. Oregon 6. Georgia 7. Ole Miss 8. BYU 9. Texas Tech 10. Notre Dame 11. Virginia 12. Memphis
You can also build your own scenarios with the Allstate Playoff Predictor.
CFP Rankings Release Dates
The CFP Selection Committee members will meet weekly to produce rankings. The committee’s rankings will be announced on ESPN. Here’s the schedule to update the rankings for the 2025-26 season:
- 8-8:45 p.m. | ET Tuesday, Nov. 4
- 7-8 p.m. ET | Tuesday, Nov. 11
- 8:30-9 p.m. ET | Tuesday, Nov. 18
- 7-8 p.m. ET | Tuesday, Nov. 25
- 7-7:30 p.m. ET | Tuesday, Dec. 2
- 12-3 p.m. ET | Sunday, Dec. 7 (Selection Day)
CFP Committee
Chris Ault– Former Nevada head coach and former UNLV assistant coach
Troy Dannen– Second-year athletics director at Nebraska
Mark Dantonio– Former Cincinnati and Michigan State head coach
Jeff Long– Former director of athletics at Kansas, Arkansas, Pittsburgh, and Eastern Kentucky
Ivan Maisel– Former sportswriter of The Atlanta Constitution, Sports Illustrated, The Dallas Morning News, and Newsday
Chris Massaro– Former Director of Athletics at Middle Tennessee State
Mack Rhoades– Baylor’s Vice President and Athletics Director
Mike Riley– Former Oregon State and Nebraska head coach
David Sayler– Miami Athletics Director
Wesley Walls– Former Ole Miss and San Francisco 49ers tight end
Carla Williams– Seventh-year Director of Athletics at Virginia
Hunter Yurachek– Arkansas Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics
2025-26 College Football Playoff schedule, dates, TV channel, sites
- First round (Dec. 19-20) — on campus
- Friday, Dec. 19: One game
- Saturday, Dec. 20: Three games
- Quarterfinals (Dec. 31-Jan. 1)
- Wednesday, Dec. 31: Cotton Bowl (Arlington, Texas) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
- Thursday, Jan. 1: Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, Fla.) | 12 p.m. | ESPN
- Thursday, Jan. 1: Rose Bowl (Pasadena, Calif.) | 4 p.m. | ESPN
- Thursday, Jan. 1: Sugar Bowl (New Orleans) | 8 p.m. | ESPN
- Semifinals (Jan. 8-9)
- Thursday, Jan. 8: Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Ariz.) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
- Friday, Jan. 9: Peach Bowl (Atlanta) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
- CFP National Championship
- Monday, Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
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