CFP Rankings Hold at the Top as Oregon Rises; Mendoza Still the Heisman Pace-Setter
Marissa BledayNovember 25, 2025
The College Football Playoff committee didn’t rewrite the script at the top in its Week 14 rankings, but it did sharpen the picture in the middle, where Oregon’s double-overtime win over USC created just enough movement to rearrange the contenders without upsetting the heavyweights.
No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Texas A&M both handled business to keep their positions, while No. 3 Indiana stayed put during an idle week, a quiet Saturday that still felt like a win with chaos limited elsewhere. The most notable shakeup came just below them: Georgia climbed to No. 4, Oregon moved up to No. 5 after its 37-34 win over USC, and Ole Miss slid down to No. 6 after being idle.
The rest of the top 11 stayed frozen in place: No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 10 Michigan and No. 11 BYU all held their spots, setting up a final-week slate that will decide conference title paths and, for several teams, playoff security.
Behind them, the committee made room for winners and penalized the week’s few losers. Miami and Alabama each moved up two spots to Nos. 12 and 13, benefiting from USC’s drop and Georgia Tech’s stumble. Vanderbilt made one of the week’s biggest jumps, up three places to No. 14 after a 28-26 win over Kentucky, while Utah inched to No. 15 following a 45-14 victory over Kansas State.
USC fell from No. 12 to No. 16 after the loss at Oregon, and Arizona State slid in right behind at No. 17. Tennessee climbed three spots to No. 18 after a 42-35 win over Florida, Texas rose to No. 19 with a 38-31 win over Arkansas, and idle Virginia moved up to No. 20 ahead of a Georgia Tech team that fell from No. 13 to No. 21 after a 24-22 loss to Pitt. Formerly ranked Illinois and Missouri dropped out of the rankings with losses, the only two ranked teams to do so this week.
Tulane and SMU both won and rose to Nos. 22 and 23. North Texas (10-1) jumped into the rankings for the first time at No. 24, and Arizona (8-3) entered at No. 25 after beating Baylor.
Heisman Watch
In the Heisman race, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza didn’t play, but his résumé still towers over the field: 3,750 passing yards, 31 passing touchdowns (tied for third nationally), 0 interceptions on 442 attempts, plus four rushing scores. Barring a dramatic late-season swing, the award remains his to lose.
One name worth monitoring as a late-stage mover: Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, who has averaged 398 passing yards over his last two games and now faces a top-10 showdown with Michigan, and potentially a direct postseason stage against Mendoza if the Big Ten title game becomes the collision course it appears to be.
Rank | Team | Record | Last Week | Up Next |
1 |  Ohio State | 11-0 | 61-3 Win vs Rutgers | at #10 Michigan |
2 |  Texas A&M | 11-0 | 58-0 Win vs Samford | at #19 Texas |
3 |  Georgia | 10-1 | 38-0 Win vs Charlotte | vs #21 Georgia Tech |
4 |  Indiana | 11-0 | Bye | at Purdue |
5 |  Oregon | 10-1 | 37-34 Win vs #16 USC | at Washington |
6 |  Ole Miss | 10-1 | Bye | at Mississippi State |
7 |  Oklahoma | 9-2 | 41-9 Win vs Missouri | vs LSU |
8 |  Texas Tech | 10-1 | Bye | at West Virginia |
9 |  Notre Dame | 9-2 | 47-20 Win vs Syracuse | at Stanford |
10 |  Michigan | 9-2 | 56-21 Win at Maryland | vs #1 Ohio State |
11 |  BYU | 10-1 | 42-7 Win at Cincinnati | vs UCF |
12 |  Miami (FL) | 9-2 | 34-27 Win at Virginia Tech | at Pittsburgh |
13 |  Alabama | 9-2 | 45-0 Win vs Eastern Illinois | at Auburn |
14 |  Vanderbilt | 9-2 | 28-26 Win vs Kentucky | at #18 Tennessee |
15 |  Utah | 9-2 | 45-14 Win vs Kansas State | at Kansas |
16 |  USC | 8-3 | 37-34 Loss at #5 Oregon | vs UCLA |
17 |  Arizona State | 8-3 | 42-7 Win at Colorado | vs #25 Arizona |
18 |  Tennessee | 8-3 | 42-35 Win at Florida | vs #14 Vanderbilt |
19 |  Texas | 8-3 | 38-31 Win vs Arkansas | vs #2 Texas A&M |
20 |  Virginia | 9-2 | Bye | vs Virginia Tech |
21 |  Georgia Tech | 9-2 | 24-22 Loss vs Pittsburgh | vs #3 Georgia |
22 |  Tulane | 9-2 | 48-10 Win at Temple | vs Charlotte |
23 |  SMU | 8-3 | 37-13 Win vs Louisville | at California |
24 |  North Texas | 10-1 | 24-23 Win at Rice | vs Temple |
25 |  Arizona | 8-3 | 17-7 Win vs Baylor | at #17 Arizona State |