Georgia Takes No. 1 in College Football Playoff Rankings as Alabama, UCLA Crack Top Four, Ohio State Plunges

IRVING, Texas — Georgia moved to No. 1 in the second College Football Playoff rankings of the season on Tuesday night. Alabama and unbeaten UCLA climbed into the top four, and Ohio State fell to the lowest ranking in program history.

The Bulldogs (8-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) took over the top spot after a 42-7 rout of Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi. Previous No. 1 Miami tumbled to No. 7 after a 31-24 loss at Notre Dame.

"The committee is very high on Georgia," said Yurachek, the selection committee chair.

It is Georgia's 16th week overall at No. 1, the second-most in the CFP era behind Alabama's 24.

Unbeaten Utah (9-0) moved to No. 2 after beating rival BYU. Alabama (7-2) jumped two spots to No. 3 after a 31-13 win at LSU. It is the earliest a two-loss team has been ranked in the top four, beating the previous mark set by Auburn on Nov. 28, 2017.

UCLA (9-0) rose four spots to No. 4, the highest ranking in program history. Its previous best was No. 8. The Bruins and Utah are the only unbeaten teams left in the Football Bowl Subdivision, matching the fewest at this point of the season in CFP history.

Notre Dame (8-1) made the biggest leap in the top 10, soaring from No. 11 to No. 5 after beating Miami. It became the first team in the history of the rankings to jump from outside the top 10 into the top five in a single week.

"Notre Dame made one of the biggest moves of the week," Yurachek said.

Texas (7-2) is No. 6, followed by Miami (8-1), Tennessee (7-2), Indiana (8-1) and BYU (7-2). Indiana fell five spots from No. 4 after an open week.

Ohio State (6-3) suffered a historic fall. The Buckeyes dropped from No. 12 to No. 20 after a 41-28 loss to Oregon, their lowest ranking in program history. Oregon (6-3) made the biggest jump of the week, climbing seven spots from No. 23 to No. 16.

Oklahoma State (6-3) was the only newcomer, entering at No. 25 after beating Kansas State by 38 points. Arizona (7-2) is No. 23 and Boise State (8-1) is No. 24.

The SEC leads all conferences with nine ranked teams: Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, Ole Miss, LSU and Missouri.

Under the current 12-team format, the four highest-ranked teams earn first-round byes. As of now, those byes would go to Georgia, Utah, Alabama and UCLA.

UCLA's résumé will face more scrutiny. The Bruins rank first in strength of record but only 67th in strength of schedule. They host Illinois this week before closing the regular season against Michigan and USC.

Georgia visits No. 22 Missouri this weekend before finishing against South Carolina and Georgia Tech. Utah visits Arizona, and Indiana hosts USC.

The committee will release six rankings this season. The playoff is set to expand to 24 teams beginning with the 2027-28 season.