Georgia Takes Over No. 1 in the Second CFP Rankings as Notre Dame Jumps From 11th to 5th and Miami Falls to 7th

By The Arena Staff

IRVING, Texas, Nov. 10, 2026 — One Saturday night in South Bend rearranged the whole top of the College Football Playoff rankings.

Georgia moved up to No. 1 in the selection committee's second rankings of the season on Tuesday night, replacing a Miami team that lost 31-24 at Notre Dame. Unbeaten Utah climbed to No. 2, two-loss Alabama rose to No. 3 and unbeaten UCLA jumped four spots to No. 4, according to the CFP.

Under this season's format, the top four teams in the rankings get the top four seeds and first-round byes whether or not they win their conference, NCAA.com noted. If the bracket were set today, those byes would go to the Bulldogs, Utes, Crimson Tide and Bruins.

The biggest move belonged to Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish (8-1) went from No. 11 to No. 5, the first team in CFP history to jump from outside the top 10 into the top five in a single week, according to the CFP.

"They looked like the Notre Dame team that should be ranked No. 5. They were up 24-3 and dominating that game," committee chair Hunter Yurachek said on ESPN's rankings show.

Miami (8-1) slid six spots to No. 7, behind Texas at No. 6 and behind several two-loss SEC teams. Tennessee rose five places to No. 8 after a 34-6 win over Kentucky, which dropped from sixth to 11th. Indiana fell five spots to No. 9 despite not playing, and BYU slipped one place to No. 10 after its loss to Utah, ESPN reported.

Alabama's spot carries some history of its own. The Crimson Tide (7-2) are the earliest two-loss team ever to sit in the top four, beating Auburn's Nov. 28, 2017, mark, the CFP said. Yurachek pointed to the 31-13 win at LSU and a resume he said ranks No. 1 in both record strength and schedule strength.

"Alabama we believe deserves to be the No. 3 team in the country," he said.

The milestones kept coming down the list. Utah's No. 2 ranking is the best in program history, and UCLA's No. 4 is the highest the Bruins have ever been ranked by the committee. The Utes and Bruins are the only unbeaten teams left in the FBS, which ties 2014 for the fewest at this point of a season, according to the CFP.

Texas Tech rounded out the top 12 at No. 12, but because five conference champions are guaranteed spots, No. 24 Boise State would take the last place in the field as projected, ESPN reported. Ohio State fell eight spots to No. 20 after its loss to Oregon, which climbed seven places to No. 16, and Oklahoma State entered the rankings at No. 25.

The next rankings come out Nov. 17, and the final rankings and 12-team bracket arrive Dec. 6.

Sourcing: College Football Playoff, ESPN and NCAA.com.