re: ND ahead of Bama?, huh

Because late season losses always weigh more than early season losses.

Just win out is a lazy take. It doesn’t consider who you played or when you played them.

I asked Grok. Groks ratings toward the bottom.


I want you to rank the college football playoff for today, using:Strength of schedule
Head to head
Common opponents

Searched for "College football playoff committee top 25 November 18 2025"
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Official CFP Committee Rankings (Released November 18, 2025)The College Football Playoff selection committee released their third top 25 of the 2025 season on Tuesday, November 18. The top remains stable after Week 12 chaos (including Alabama's home loss to Oklahoma), with Ohio State, Indiana, and Texas A&M holding the top three spots. Georgia jumped into the top 4, while Oklahoma surged and Alabama dropped.Here is the full top 25 as of today:Ohio State Buckeyes
Indiana Hoosiers
Texas A&M Aggies
Georgia Bulldogs
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (approx., based on committee comparisons)
Ole Miss Rebels (approx.)
Oregon Ducks (approx.)
Oklahoma Sooners
Texas Longhorns (or similar two-loss SEC/Big 12 teams)
Alabama Crimson Tide
... (lower spots include teams like Miami, Texas Tech, USC, Michigan, and Group of 5 leaders like South Florida or Georgia Tech as auto-bid contenders)

(The exact 11-25 order has some variance in reports, but does not dramatically affect the playoff picture yet.)If the 12-team playoff started today (with top 4 conference champions getting byes, and the 5 highest-ranked champions auto-qualified), the field would look roughly like this:Byes: 1. Ohio State (Big Ten leader), 2. Indiana, Indiana, 3. Texas A&M (SEC leader), 4. Georgia
First-round games would feature at-large bids like Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Oregon, Oklahoma, Alabama, etc., plus the top Group of 5 champion (likely South Florida or Georgia Tech).

My Alternative Ranking Focusing Strictly on Your Criteria (Strength of Schedule, Head-to-Head, Common Opponents)The CFP committee uses a holistic approach (eye test, game control, record, etc.), but you specifically asked to prioritize strength of schedule (SOS), head-to-head results, and performance against common opponents. Using current 2025 data from ESPN FPI, Sagarin, and other SOS metrics (played to date), plus known head-to-head outcomes:Rank
Team
Record (as of Nov 18)
Key Reasoning (SOS + H2H + Common Opps)
1
Ohio State
~10-0
Elite wins (e.g., Penn State, Michigan likely), top-25 SOS, no losses. Dominates common Big Ten opponents.
2
Georgia
~9-1 or 8-2
Highest SOS among contenders (multiple top-10 wins like Texas, Alabama), head-to-head win over Texas, strong vs common SEC foes. Jumped Alabama post-loss.
3
Alabama
~8-2
Very high SOS (losses to good teams like Oklahoma), win over Georgia head-to-head, best wins vs ranked teams. Drops only due to recent loss.
4
Notre Dame
~9-1 or 8-2
Strong independent SOS, key wins (e.g., Texas A&M or similar), committee values their eye test; head-to-head edges over some SEC teams.
5
Indiana
10-0 or 11-0
Undefeated, but lower SOS than SEC/Big Ten powers; no bad losses but fewer common high-quality opponents.
6
Texas A&M
~9-1
Solid SEC SOS, undefeated or one close loss; common opponents favor them over lower teams but behind Georgia/Bama H2H.
7
Oklahoma
~8-2
Massive head-to-head road win at Alabama boosts them hugely; improved SOS with SEC schedule.
8
Ole Miss
~9-2
High SEC SOS, quality losses; strong vs common opponents.
9
Oregon
~9-1 or 10-1
Big Ten SOS rising with wins like Iowa/USC, but some close games vs common foes.
10
Texas
~8-3
Losses include Georgia (H2H loss), but tough SOS; common SEC/Big 12 opponents keep them in at-large discussion.

Key tiebreaker notes (why this differs from the committee):SOS is king here: SEC teams (Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma) dominate the top 10 because their schedules are objectively the toughest per every major metric (ESPN FPI, Sagarin, etc.).
Head-to-head examples: Oklahoma > Alabama, Georgia > Texas, Alabama > Georgia (earlier win, but recent form + SOS tips Georgia slightly in my view).
Common opponents: Teams like Alabama/Georgia have multiple wins over current top-25 teams; Indiana's schedule, while leading to an undefeated record, lacks the same depth of ranked common wins.

This SOS-focused ranking would create a more "battle-tested" top group, rewarding teams that played (and mostly beat) elite competition. The committee seems to weigh undefeated/near-undefeated records and recent performance more heavily, which keeps Indiana higher and Alabama lower after their loss.Let me know if you'd like a full 12-team bracket projection, deeper dive on specific teams, or adjustments to the criteria!

Obviously, the AP/Coaches poll is biased. So, you can't remove human biases completely but it's what we can get at the moment.

ND lost to good teams only in close games. ND beat their ranked opponent this weekend. Skull drug them as a matter of fact on the road.

Bama lost to FSU. Game wasn't really that close. Bama lost to ranked team at home this weekend.

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ND would whoop that Gump arse

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I doubt it. They have perhaps the worst kicking situation in the country, their corners outside of Leonard Moore have been bad, and they can't run the ball on 3rd/4th and short.

Losing to a crap team and that team having full game control through the second half negates the difference. Sorry, but the first game wasn't a mulligan game. Counts.

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That discrepancy in quality wins more than nullifies ND having 2 "good" losses to Bama's 1 good loss and 1 bad loss...or it should.

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They’re still a well balanced team and a physical squad.

Bama peaked in October and has noticeably taken a step or two back. Ryan Williams disappears. Simpson couldn’t handle an aggressive defense. And Deboer can’t keep any consistency at an elite level.

Maybe they get it back but y’all are getting cold at the wrong time.

How is it a lazy take when it's actually a true statement.

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OU still has Missouri and LSU, Alabama has East Illinois and Auburn. Either is out with 1 more loss, OU is hardly a lock

They also wont drop the gumps if the gumps make it to the CCG and lose

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I was talking about win out scenarios.