One team in Saturday’s matchup between Indiana and Penn State is ranked No. 2 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings, but it isn’t the team most experts would have predicted two months ago.

The undefeated Hoosiers find themselves behind only Ohio State in the initial CFP rankings and will look to back that positioning up when they visit the reeling Nittany Lions in University Park, Pa.

Indiana (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) has cruised through its schedule to this point, highlighted by double-digit wins against Illinois (63-10) and Oregon (30-20), both of which were ranked in the top 10 at the time.

Most recently, the Hoosiers crushed Maryland 55-10 largely due to 367 rushing yards. Kaelon Black rushed for 110 yards and scored a touchdown, while Fernando Mendoza added a rushing touchdown and threw for 201 yards and another TD.

At this point, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is largely trying to guard against overconfidence.

“Obviously, we’ve turned that page,” Cignetti said in reference to his team focusing on Penn State. “Everything in this game is earned, not given, and you’ve got to earn it every single day. The game gives you nothing. You get out what you put in. We’ve got to really be sharp this week and have a great mindset.”

Penn State (3-5, 0-5) is looking to reset as well, although overconfidence is not a problem for interim coach Terry Smith. His team has dropped five straight games — with the program firing coach James Franklin in the midst of that stretch — as the Nittany Lions’ No. 2 preseason ranking continues to feel like a distant memory.

Still, Cignetti was complimentary of Smith and his program this week.

“Terry has done a really good job of sort of rejuvenating these guys, and it’ll be his first opportunity to play a game at home,” Cignetti said. “Tough place to play — 100,000-plus people. They’re a really good football team.”

Omar Cooper Jr. and Elijah Sarratt have combined for 91 catches for 1,278 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Hoosiers, who average a national-best 46.4 points per game. That could spell bad news for a Nittany Lions defense that gave up 316 passing yards — and 480 total yards — against Ohio State.

“Yeah, we’ve definitely got to get it fixed this week,” Smith said of his passing defense. “Those two receivers they have in Indiana have more touchdowns than the Ohio State guys, so it doesn’t get any easier.”

Penn State’s other issues at the moment include a passing offense that only produced 145 yards last week with Ethan Grunkemeyer under center. The redshirt freshman has three interceptions and no touchdowns since taking over for Drew Allar (ankle), who is out for the season.

“Ethan continues to grow,” Smith said. “I think he’s getting better. I thought he was better in game two than game one.”

Nittany Lions running back Kaytron Allen is aiming to bounce back after averaging just 3.6 yards per carry against the Buckeyes, a season low. He did score a touchdown in that game and has found the end zone in all eight games this season.

–Field Level Media

The College Football Playoff committee had a few surprises in store when it released its first rankings and projected field of 12 teams of the season Tuesday night.

Much was as expected, with Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama and Georgia making up the top five. On the less anticipated side of things, Utah checked in at No. 13 — four spots higher than its place in this week’s AP Top 25 poll — and no team outside the Power 4 conferences was given a spot.

With four weeks of regular season left plus conference championship weekend, there’s still plenty of time for things to be flipped on their head. Last year, nine of the 12 teams in the first projected bracket made it into the CFP while eventual Big 12 champion Arizona State wasn’t even in the top 25.

Here’s a look at the top 15 teams in the first rankings, their path here and the rest of the way, along with an assessment of where they were placed.

1. Ohio State (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten)

How they got here: New QB Julian Sayin has been a sensation, and their defense is allowing 6.9 points per game.

Grading the ranking: A

Ohio State doesn’t have the best resume, but it’s hard to argue with keeping the defending champs No. 1 until they lose.

Remaining roadblocks to the playoff: Rival (and recent demon) Michigan is the only real test left on the regular-season schedule. Then there’s the Big Ten championship game — almost certainly against Indiana and potentially to determine a top-four seed.

2. Indiana (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten)

How they got here: The Hoosiers have shown last year was no fluke with the best average margin of victory (35.7 points) in the country.

Grading the ranking: A

Indiana probably has the single-best win (at No. 9 Oregon) and has a strong case for No. 1.

Remaining roadblocks to the playoff: Indiana’s last three opponents are a combined 0-16 in Big Ten play. The likely Big Ten title game vs. Ohio State looms as a chance for Indiana to claim No. 1.

3. Texas A&M (8-0, 5-0 SEC)

How they got here: Texas A&M’s ferocious defense leads the nation in sacks per game (4.0) while QB Marcel Reed has entered the Heisman conversation.

Grading the ranking: A-

Wins at Notre Dame and LSU could make a case for the Aggies being ranked even higher.

Remaining roadblocks to the playoff: Texas A&M has two ranked road games left, this weekend at No. 22 Missouri and Thanksgiving weekend at No. 11 Texas.

4. Alabama (7-1, 5-0 SEC)

How they got here: Since losing its opener, Alabama has been on a roll, looking positively Nick Saban-esque with four consecutive ranked wins.

Grading the ranking: B

The loss to Florida State hasn’t aged well. Should Alabama be the highest-ranked one-loss team?

Remaining roadblocks to the playoff: Only one ranked opponent left (No. 12 Oklahoma), but games against LSU and Auburn always have a chance of getting crazy.

5. Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC)

How they got here: The Bulldogs have been hard to kill, trailing or tied at halftime in five of their last six games before winning four of them.

Grading the ranking: A

Georgia’s head-to-head loss to Alabama understandably puts it one spot behind the Tide.

Remaining roadblocks to the playoff: The Bulldogs still have Texas and upstart rival No. 17 Georgia Tech, which was unbeaten until Saturday, on the schedule.

6. Ole Miss (8-1, 5-1 SEC)

How they got here: D2 transfer QB Trinidad Chambliss has stepped up, anchoring wins over LSU and at Oklahoma.

Grading the ranking: B+

The Rebels’ lone loss at Georgia is defensible, but they’ve also had some unexpectedly close wins.

Remaining roadblocks to the playoff: With only The Citadel, Florida and Mississippi State left, Ole Miss has a very possible path to 11-1 and its first playoff berth.

7. BYU (8-0, 5-0 Big 12)

How they got here: With three one-score wins in the last five games, the Cougars have been great in the clutch with freshman QB Bear Bachmeier.

Grading the ranking: C-

BYU may have started the season unranked, but keeping it below three one-loss teams is a bit harsh.

Remaining roadblocks to the playoff: BYU has among the toughest paths left with a pair of ranked opponents on the road, starting with No. 8 Texas Tech this week.

8. Texas Tech (8-1, 5-1 Big 12)

How they got here: Spending a reported $28 million on their roster, the Red Raiders have looked the part. They’d probably be top-five were it not for the slip-up at Arizona State.

Grading the ranking: A

The Big 12 of it all hurts Texas Tech’s standing, but at least it is above all two-loss teams.

Remaining roadblocks to the playoff: The aforementioned BYU game this weekend is followed by games against two teams that are a combined 2-9 in Big 12 play.

9. Oregon (7-1, 4-1 Big Ten)

How they got here: Oregon lost at home for the first time since 2022, but has otherwise taken care of business, which is the norm under coach Dan Lanning.

Grading the ranking: A+

Oregon’s resume to date is not particularly good, now that what was thought to be a signature win vs. Penn State is decidedly not one. The Ducks haven’t beaten a single ranked team and the one they played — Indiana — they lost to at home by 10 points. Good on the committee for being harsher than the AP voters.

Remaining roadblocks to the playoff: If the Ducks make the playoff, they’ll have earned it, considering three of their final four opponents (No. 20 Iowa, No. 19 USC and No. 23 Washington) are in the CFP top 25.

10. Notre Dame (6-2)

How they got here: Since starting 0-2 vs. Miami and Texas A&M, the Fighting Irish have taken care of business to climb back into contention.

Grading the ranking: C-

Notre Dame has looked much better of late, but has beaten just one ranked team and three teams above .500. Should it be the highest two-loss team?

Remaining roadblocks to the playoff: Coming off its first loss, 7-1 Navy awaits this weekend while Pittsburgh, which has won five straight, is after that.

11. Texas (7-2, 4-1 SEC)

How they got here: The preseason No. 1 team fell out of the rankings in October, but appears to be rounding into form with four straight wins and is coming off a ranked win over Vanderbilt.

Grading the ranking: B

Texas gets the benefit of the doubt with how good it has looked lately and the fact that its Ohio State loss has aged very well.

Remaining roadblocks to the playoff: No team in playoff contention has a harder path to a berth. Two of the Longhorns’ final three games (at Georgia and vs. Texas A&M) are against top-five teams.

12. Oklahoma (7-2, 3-2 SEC)

How they got here: QB John Mateer hasn’t looked the same since coming back from thumb surgery, but their top-tier defense can keep them in any game.

Grading the ranking: B+

Reasonable range for a team that has a few big wins but also multiple losses.

Remaining roadblocks to the playoff: The Sooners probably need to win out to make it. That won’t be easy with a trip to Alabama Nov. 15 followed by Missouri at home.

13. Utah (7-2, 4-2 Big 12)

How they got here: Utah has the third-best rushing offense in the country (267.1 yards per game) with a huge win (45-14 over then-No. 17 Cincinnati) and a humbling loss (34-10 at home to No. 8 Texas Tech) on its resume.

Grading the ranking: C+

This one is certainly the biggest surprise as the only team outside the AP’s top 15 to make the CFP top 15, and doing so comfortably. The Utes’ good is quite good, but they’ve proven to be inconsistent. Them being above Virginia and Louisville does not speak kindly about how the ACC is being viewed by the committee.

Remaining roadblocks to the playoff: Utah’s last three games are against three teams that are all .500 in Big 12 play: Baylor, Kansas State and Kansas.

14. Virginia (8-1, 5-0 ACC)

How they got here: No team has been more clutch than Virginia, which has won seven straight, three of those in overtime and another by two points on a late safety.

Grading the ranking: B

A case can be made that the Cavaliers should be above the two-loss teams, but given how close many of the games have been, it’s understandable why they aren’t.

Remaining roadblocks to the playoff: Duke on Nov. 15 is the toughest test left, but the Cavaliers have beaten rival Virginia Tech just once in the last 20 matchups.

15. Louisville (7-1, 4-1 ACC)

How they got here: Louisville has lived up to its hype as an ACC dark horse, making a statement with a win at then-No. 2 Miami.

Grading the ranking: C+

Considering Louisville has a better win and one fewer loss, one could make a strong case that the Cardinals should be above Texas.

Remaining roadblocks to the playoff: No ranked opponents lie ahead on the rest of Louisville’s schedule. But Clemson is talented and a trip to SMU (Nov. 22) just tripped up Miami.

–Curt Weiler, Field Level Media

Ohio State claimed the No. 1 spot in the initial rankings released by the College Football Playoff committee on Tuesday night, with Big Ten rival Indiana right behind at No. 2.

The defending national champion Buckeyes won’t face the Hoosiers until a potential collision in the Big Ten championship game. Neither team has stumbled this season, and they are widely considered the two best teams in college football.

Texas A&M, undefeated like Ohio State and Indiana, came in No. 3 in the first rankings reveal of the season. Then the committee rewarded a trio of one-loss SEC teams, with Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss slotting in Nos. 4-6.

CFP committee chair Mack Rhoades, Baylor’s athletic director, told ESPN regarding the top places, “We had robust discussion about the three of them. Obviously, all three are undefeated. … We really felt like that Ohio State and Indiana were close. When you look at the statistical data, both offensively and defensively, these are two teams that are both in the top five offensively and in the top five defensively, both with really good wins.

“But again, when we looked at tape, and we looked at metrics, we felt that Ohio State was a little bit better up front, on the offensive line. And we thought they were better defensively.”

Completing the top 10 were unbeaten Big 12 leader BYU, followed by Texas Tech, Oregon and two-loss Notre Dame. Oregon was seventh in the AP Top 25 poll this week, ahead of BYU and Texas Tech, but the Ducks were apparently dinged for having no quality win on their resume (a 30-24 victory at Penn State lost its luster when the Nittany Lions dropped the next four games).

Rhoades said of Oregon, “When you look at (the Ducks) in the top 10, our lowest ranked in terms of record strength. And so the committee had a lot of conversations — rigorous debate and conversations — about Oregon as a team.”

No teams from outside the Power 4 conferences made the initial rankings. Memphis, though it fell outside the committee’s top 25, was penciled in as the No. 12 playoff seed as the fifth highest-rated conference champion.

Memphis was No. 22 in the AP poll this week, and the Tigers are battling Navy, North Texas and Tulane for the American Conference championship and an automatic bid into the field.

Upstart Virginia also benefits from being projected as one of five conference champs. The Cavaliers are No. 14 in the initial rankings but the highest among ACC teams, thus earning the No. 11 seed in the mock bracket.

Unlike last year, the top four teams in the rankings get the top four seeds regardless of conference, rather than the four best conference champs receiving first-round byes. That led to a pair of Big Ten teams and a pair of SEC teams slotted in at Nos. 1-4. Seeds 5-8 get to host first-round games at campus sites.

The final CFP rankings will be released on Sunday, Dec. 7, after all of the conference championship games have taken place.

CFP initial bracket
First-round games:
–No. 12 Memphis at No. 5 Georgia
–No. 11 Virginia at No. 6 Ole Miss
–No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 BYU
–No. 9 Oregon at No. 8 Texas Tech
First-round byes: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Alabama

CFP initial Top 25
1. Ohio State (8-0)
2. Indiana (9-0)
3. Texas A&M (8-0)
4. Alabama (7-1)
5. Georgia (7-1)
6. Ole Miss (8-1)
7. BYU (8-0)
8. Texas Tech (8-1)
9. Oregon (7-1)
10. Notre Dame (6-2)
11. Texas (7-2)
12. Oklahoma (7-2)
13. Utah (7-2)
14. Virginia (8-1)
15. Louisville (7-1)
16. Vanderbilt (7-2)
17. Georgia Tech (8-1)
18. Miami (6-2)
19. Southern California (6-2)
20. Iowa (6-2)
21. Michigan (7-2)
22. Missouri (6-2)
23. Washington (6-2)
24. Pitt (7-2)
25. Tennessee (6-3)

–Field Level Media

The second year of the 12-team College Football Playoff begins with a standalone Friday night game before a tripleheader of first-round matchups on Saturday, Dec. 20.

All first-round games are played on the campus of the team receiving the better seed. The CFP, which releases rankings weekly starting Tuesday, will determine the final playoff field on Dec. 7.

The opening game of the playoff is an 8 p.m. ET kickoff on Dec. 19. The Dec. 20 tripleheader games are scheduled for Noon, 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., following the Eastern Time zone regardless of game location. The two late games are being broadcast by TNT with ABC-ESPN airing the first two games.

A tweak to the CFP format involves eliminating a conference championship qualifier to receive a top four seed and coveted first-round bye. The committee’s highest-ranked teams in the final top 25, regardless of conference championship status, will not play between Dec. 6 and the CFP quarterfinals Dec. 31-Jan. 1.

The Saturday first-round games fall on a robust day for college sports, with men’s college basketball showcasing the meeting between Rick Pitino and his former Kentucky player and current coach Mark Pope at Atlanta (12:30 p.m. ET). The matchup pits No. 9 Kentucky and No. 5 St. John’s as one of four games matching teams currently ranked in the top 20 of the AP Top 25 poll. No. 6 Duke and No. 10 Texas Tech (at Madison Square Garden) play at 8 p.m. ET with No. 1 Purdue and No. 20 Auburn in action at 6:30 p.m. ET in Indianapolis.

NFL Week 16 games scheduled for Dec. 20 are the Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Commanders. Kickoff times are not confirmed for either game.

The CFP national title game is Monday, Jan. 19 in Miami.

Below is the full schedule for the 2025 College Football Playoff:
Fri., Dec. 19
8 p.m. CFP First-Round Game ABC & ESPN
Sat., Dec. 20
Noon CFP First-Round Game ABC & ESPN
3:30 p.m. CFP First-Round Game TNT, truTV & HBO Max
7:30 p.m. CFP First-Round Game TNT, truTV & HBO Max

Wed., Dec. 31
7:30 p.m. Quarterfinal, Arlington, Texas, Cotton Bowl ESPN

Thu., Jan. 1
Noon Quarterfinal, Miami, Orange Bowl ESPN
4 p.m. Quarterfinal, Pasadena, Rose Bowl ESPN
8 p.m. Quarterfinal, New Orleans, Sugar Bowl ESPN

Thu., Jan. 8
7:30 p.m. Semifinal, Glendale, Ariz., Fiesta Bowl ESPN

Fri., Jan. 9
7:30 p.m. Semifinal, Atlanta, Peach Bowl ESPN

Mon., Jan. 19
7:30 p.m. National Championship, Miami, Hard Rock Stadium ESPN

–Field Level Media