The College Football Playoff committee released the first rankings of the 2025 and here's the projected 12-team bracket based off those rankings

The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season always comes with a few unknowns. Who will the committee put at No. 1? Where do the rest of the contenders stack up? What about the race among Group of Five teams?

This decision on who would top the rankings came down to three of the four unbeatens remaining in the Bowl Subdivision — defending champion Ohio State and Indiana from the Big Ten and Texas A&M from the SEC — with each having a compelling case.

The committee decided to opt for the Buckeyes and Hoosiers at first and second, giving the Big Ten—- winners of the past two titles — two teams among the top three and a chance for both to reach the conference championship game with a pair of unbeatens.

No. 3 Texas A&M is tied for the SEC lead with No. 4 Alabama, which had its lone loss in the season opener against Florida State. The league also has No. 5 Georgia and No. 6 Mississippi among its contenders.

Brigham Young, the other FBS unbeaten, leads the schools in the Big 12 at No. 7 followed by conference foe Texas Tech. Oregon — another Big Ten contender — slots in at No. 9. The top team from the ACC is No. 14. Virginia.

The committee gave Notre Dame a boost. The Fighting Irish dropped games to No. 18 Miami and Texas A&M to start the season but have won six in a row, including a win against No. 19 Southern California. They were slotted in at No. 10 and need to keep winning to secure their spot.

The race among the Group of Five conference teams did not have a team from one of those leagues in the top 25. The committee did reveal Memphis was the top team from that group. The highest-ranked champion from those conferences is guaranteed a spot in the field.

While this release by the College Football Playoff committee is the first of five before the field.is set on Dec. 7, it's worth noting nine of the first 12 in the initial release were part of the playoff. However, there are opportunities for teams ranked lower. Clemson started at No. 23 and Arizona State was unranked in the first release last year and both made the field by winning their conference.

The next three rankings will come on the remaining Tuesdays in November. The decisive rankings will be Sunday, Dec. 7, when the 12 teams in the field and the playoff bracket is announced.

CFP rankings Top 25

  1. Ohio State (8-0)
  2. Indiana (9-0)
  3. Texas A&M (8-0)
  4. Alabama (7-1)
  5. Georgia (7-1)
  6. Mississippi (8-1)
  7. Brigham Young (8-0)
  8. Texas Tech (8-1)
  9. Oregon (7-1)
  10. Notre Dame (6-2)
  11. Texas (7-2)
  12. Oklahoma (7-2)
  13. Utah (7-2)
  14. Virginia (8-1)
  15. Louisville (7-1)
  16. Vanderbilt (7-2)
  17. Georgia Tech (8-1)
  18. Miami (6-2)
  19. Southern California (6-2)
  20. Iowa (6-2)
  21. Michigan (7-2)
  22. Missouri (6-2)
  23. Washington (6-2)
  24. Pittsburgh (7-2)
  25. Tennessee (6-3)

What is the College Football Playoff schedule?

The seeding process for this year's playoff has changed in the second year since moving to a 12-team field. First-round byes are no longer given to four conference champions. Positions will be awarded directly on the committee's rankings with spots reserved for the five-highest rated conference champions.

First-round games will be played on campus sites with No. 5 hosting No. 12, No. 6 facing No. 11, No. 7 meeting No. 10 and No. 8 squaring off with No. 9.

Winners of those games will advance to the quarterfinals. The Cotton Bowl will host one of those four matchups on Dec. 31 followed by the Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl or Jan. 1. The Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl will host the semifinals on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, respectively.

The championship game will be played on Jan. 19 in Miami Gardens, Florida, at Hard Rock Stadium.

How the College Football Playoff would based on rankings

First round

No. 12 Memphis at No. 5 Georgia

No. 11 Virginia at No. 6 Mississippi

No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Brigham Young

No. 9 Oregon at No. 8 Texas Tech

Quarterfinals

No. 4 Alabama vs. Georgia-Memphis winner

No. 3 Texas A&M vs. Mississippi-Virginia winner

No. 2 Indiana vs. Brigham Young-Notre Dame winner

No. 1 Ohio State vs. Texas Tech-Oregon winner

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ohio State leads CFP rankings release followed by Indiana, Texas A&M

Reporting by Erick Smith, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect