Miami Keeps Top Spot as Georgia Climbs to No. 2 in AP Poll

Four teams secured first-round byes in the College Football Playoffs following the release of the new AP Top 25 rankings on Sunday. Miami held its position at the top of the poll, while Georgia moved up to the second spot. Utah and Notre Dame rounded out the top four, joining Miami and Georgia in receiving automatic exemption from the opening round of the postseason bracket.

The structure of the College Football Playoffs dictates that the five highest-ranked conference champions from the Power Four and one Group of Six conference earn guaranteed berths. The remaining seven slots are allocated to the next-highest ranked teams. This distribution creates a specific conference breakdown for the upcoming tournament.

The Southeastern Conference is set to have the largest representation with four teams on the bracket. The Big Ten will contribute three teams, while the Big 12 will send two. The Atlantic Coast Conference and the Pac-12 will each have one representative. Boise State will enter the field as the top Group of Six champion, representing the Pac-12.

Notre Dame holds a conditional spot as an independent program. The Fighting Irish will secure an at-large berth if they finish among the top 12 teams in the final Committee on the College Football Playoff rankings released on December 6.

The full top 25 list includes Indiana at No. 3, UCLA at No. 5, Kentucky at No. 7, BYU at No. 8, Alabama at No. 9, and Ohio State at No. 10. Texas holds the No. 11 position, followed by Ole Miss at No. 12 and Texas Tech at No. 13. Wake Forest is ranked No. 14, and LSU is No. 15.

Tennessee sits at No. 16, with USC at No. 17 and Houston at No. 18. Missouri is ranked No. 19, Iowa is No. 20, and Boise State is No. 21. Arizona holds No. 22, Northwestern is No. 23, and SMU is No. 24. New Mexico completes the top 25 at No. 25.