The College Football Playoff selection committee is set to release its second rankings of the season on Tuesday night, with CBS Sports predicting Georgia to ascend to No. 1 after a dominant 42-7 victory over Ole Miss. The Bulldogs (8-1) leapfrog Miami following the Hurricanes' loss, while unbeaten Utah (9-0) holds at No. 2 after beating BYU.
Alabama (7-2) sits at No. 3 with three top-25 wins, followed by idle Indiana (8-1) at No. 4. Notre Dame (8-1) jumps to No. 5 after a resume-building win over Miami, and Texas (7-2) checks in at No. 6 with ranked victories over Tennessee, Ole Miss, Ohio State and Missouri. Miami (8-1) drops to No. 7, while undefeated UCLA (9-0) lands at No. 8 despite a weak strength of schedule. Tennessee (7-2) rounds out the top 10 at No. 9 after crushing Kentucky, which falls to No. 10 at 7-2.
BYU (7-2) edges Texas Tech (8-1) for the No. 11 spot, leaving the Red Raiders as the first team out. Ole Miss (6-3) plummets to No. 14 after a second blowout loss, with CBS Sports' forecasting model giving the Rebels only a 10.3% playoff chance. Houston (7-2) rises to No. 15 at 19.2% odds, while Iowa (7-2) sits 16th with a 20% chance if it finishes 10-2.
The predicted 12-team bracket sets up first-round matchups on Dec. 18-19: No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 11 BYU at No. 6 Texas, No. 10 Kentucky at No. 7 Miami, and No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 UCLA. Quarterfinal games are slated for Dec. 30 and Jan. 1 at Glendale, Atlanta, Arlington and Pasadena.
