What the College Football Playoff Committee Said About Ohio State After Second Rankings

The College Football Playoff Rankings and the Ongoing Conversations

As college football fans, there's a unique excitement that comes with the season, especially now that we have a 12-team College Football Playoff. With so many teams still in contention, every week brings new meaningful games, scenarios, and debates. From now until early December, when the league championship games wrap up, these discussions become even more intense as we get the latest College Football Playoff rankings.

The most recent release of the CFP rankings is the second of the season, and it has sparked a lot of conversation around the top teams. Ohio State currently sits at No. 1, and while they seem to be relatively free of drama, that could change quickly any week. Despite their strong performance, there are always other fanbases and teams that like to challenge the defending national champions. Teams like Texas A&M, Alabama, and Georgia often express their confidence from the SEC mountain.

One of the things we appreciate about the process is how transparent the College Football Playoff committee tries to be. They make committee chair Mack Rhoades available for quick conversations on ESPN after the rankings are released, and he also joins media calls to answer questions. These calls provide valuable insights, especially when it comes to the discussions surrounding Ohio State.

Here’s everything the CFP committee said about Ohio State after the second edition of the 2025 College Football Playoff rankings:

Opening Remarks by CFP Committee Senior Director of Communications Brett Daniels

BRETT DANIELS: I'd like to welcome everyone to the second College Football Playoff Selection Committee teleconference for the 2025 season. Joining us tonight is Rich Clark, the executive director of the College Football Playoff, along with Mack Rhoades, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee chair.

Michigan's Path to the College Football Playoff

Q. I just wanted to ask, for a team like Michigan who it appears they have a couple of teams to go through in order to make it to the playoffs, how much would a win over Ohio State at the end of the year impact those chances?

MACK RHOADES: Yeah, so really hard for the committee to predict. We don't predict. Certainly if Ohio State were to hold serve and be at that No. 1 spot and Michigan were to be able to beat them, that would be great discussion and conversation within the room in terms of how far they would move up.

Neutral Field Discussions

Q. I just wanted to know, is there ever a conversation that starts with the question or premise, on a neutral field, I think this team is better? Do you do any of this at all?

MACK RHOADES: There isn't. That's certainly not part of our protocol. We try not to predict. We talk about in terms of the tape that we watch and games that they played, like man, Georgia looked really good on film against Mississippi State, and they did X, Y and Z. But that's how we talk about teams when we look at them and we think about the eye test.

Penalizing Teams That Lose Conference Championship Games

Q. Regarding conference championship game losers, how much can losing a championship game hurt a team in the rankings, and can it be beneficial for a team to miss out on their championship game? Just curious how the committee views that.

MACK RHOADES: Yeah, for the committee, we look at it as a positive if you're playing in the championship game. It's another datapoint. It's certainly recognized when we think about record strength. Obviously you win it, that's a plus. If you lose it, theoretically it's not supposed to hurt you. Could it hurt you? If it was a game where it wasn't competitive and you completely got blown away, then that would be a conversation, candidly, in the room amongst the committee.

Metrics and Texas A&M vs. Ohio State

Q. When you look at the metrics, across the board it seems like Texas A&M has the higher strength of schedule and strength of record. Is there something separating Indiana and Ohio State where the metrics wouldn't come in and put A&M over the top?

MACK RHOADES: Again, when we look at schedule strength and record strength, because you mentioned those two, again, just two of the metrics, those teams are very, very close. I mean, extremely, extremely close. When we look at those two, again, defensively, Indiana, we give them the edge over A&M. We give Indiana certainly the edge -- offensively they're the top scoring offense in the country. Their defense is ranked second.

Again, those are two teams, as I mentioned, the longest discussion, Texas Tech, Ole Miss. The second longest discussion was Indiana and Texas A&M. You asked about Ohio State and Indiana. Again, the committee, really clear consensus in the room. Ohio State, the No. 1 team in the country. Felt like the most complete team. Really good defensively, particularly up front. Offensively, again, really good. Their offensive line play is outstanding. They have the great playmakers in Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate. The quarterback Sayin right now leads the country in passing efficiency and completion percentage.

Those are all reasons why Ohio State, again, clear consensus for the committee for them to remain at No. 1.