This article was written by Gus Wilson and published on Sport & State, a new media company founded by Clay Travis that is built around sports, culture, original voices, and live conversation.
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that → write → sports
Another Tuesday, another College Football Playoff ranking that has college football fans questioning what exactly the selection committee is doing.
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committee → have → what
Following one of the most consequential weekends of the season, the committee released its second top 25 Tuesday night, with plenty of movement throughout the rankings.
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committee → follow → rankings
Apparently, ESPN wasn’t interested in giving everyone much time to digest it.
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ESPN → give → it
Tuesday night’s show flew by as the network squeezed the reveal between the Champions Classic, featuring Duke-Michigan State and Kentucky-Kansas to kick off the college basketball season.
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network → fly → season
BREAKING: College Football Playoff Ranking🚨
https://t.co/IwvEyiwuX9
— On3 (@On3) November 11, 2026
But despite the shortened broadcast, the reaction was remarkably similar to last week.
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reaction → break → week
College football fans and analysts immediately took issue with several decisions, particularly the committee’s treatment of teams with identical records, head-to-head results and strength of schedule.
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fans → take → schedule
Indiana drops to 9, five spots on a bye week!
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Indiana → drop → week
, Tennessee is 8, Miami is 7, drops six!
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Miami → drop → ?
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) November 11, 2026
Georgia claimed the top spot following its dominant victory over Ole Miss, with undefeated Utah sitting at No. 2.
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Utah → claim → .
What comes after them?
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What → come → them
That’s where things get interesting.
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things → ’ → ?
Alabama cracks the top three, still five spots above Tennessee
Apparently, beating Alabama by 16 points isn’t enough to be considered in the same conversation as Alabama.
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beating → crack → Alabama
The Crimson Tide climbed from No. 5 to No. 3 after dismantling LSU 31-13 in Baton Rouge, becoming the earliest two-loss team to reach the CFP’s top four in the ranking’s history.
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Tide → climb → history
Meanwhile, the undefeated UCLA Bruins sit one spot below at No. 4 despite sporting a perfect 9-0 record.
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Bruins → sit → record
I’m so glad we have such a sacred regular season in college football where you can lose not once but TWICE and you can still be ranked ahead of a 9-0 team.
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you → ’m → team
Like I’ve been telling you….you’ve been lied to for the past 75 years.
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.you’ve → tell → years
The regular season matters to some but not all.
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season → matter → some
— Danny Kanell (@dannykanell) November 11, 2026
Alabama certainly deserves credit for its impressive resumé, particularly victories over Kentucky, South Carolina and LSU.
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Alabama → deserve → Kentucky
But the committee’s continued treatment of Tennessee is becoming increasingly difficult to understand.
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treatment → continue → Tennessee
The Volunteers improved to 7-2 after demolishing previously No. 6 Kentucky 34-6 on Saturday, giving them another signature victory to accompany their 26-10 win over Alabama.
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Volunteers → improve → Alabama
How were they rewarded?
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they → reward → ?
That’s certainly an improvement from last week’s ridiculous No. 13 ranking, but Tennessee still sits five spots behind a team it beat convincingly just over two weeks ago.
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it → ’ → team
Remember, committee chairman Hunter Yurachek explained last week that Tennessee and Alabama weren’t directly compared because they weren’t in the same voting “pod.”
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they → remember → pod
He reiterated the same idea during Tuesday’s reveal.
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He → reiterate → reveal
CFP’s Hunter Yurachek, on Alabama being ranked ahead of Tennessee
“Alabama was in that first pool, Tennessee was not in that first pool..
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Tennessee → rank → pool
If you look at their schedule compared to Alabama’s schedule, the committee feels like Alabama has a stronger schedule”
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Alabama → look → schedule
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace) November 11, 2026
Well, Tennessee now has two victories over teams currently ranked inside the top 11.
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Tennessee → have → top
At what point does head-to-head actually matter?
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head → matter → head
Notre Dame-Miami aftermath
Last week, the committee practically begged Notre Dame to earn a signature victory.
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committee → beg → victory
On Saturday, the Fighting Irish delivered.
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Irish → deliver → Saturday
Notre Dame jumped out to a 24-3 lead over previously No. 1 Miami, ultimately holding on for a 31-24 victory behind quarterback CJ Carr‘s 319 passing yards and three touchdowns.
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Dame → jump → yards
The committee responded by moving Notre Dame up six spots, from No. 11 to No. 5.
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committee → respond → .
Miami, meanwhile, fell from No. 1 to No. 7.
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Miami → fall → .
It’s difficult to argue with Notre Dame’s jump.
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It → ’ → jump
The Irish finally have the marquee victory the committee claimed they were missing.
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they → have → victory
But the Hurricanes fell quite harshly for a game they were not even favored in.
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they → fall → game
Miami’s resumé deserves respect, but the contrast between how different teams are being evaluated continues to raise questions.
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teams → deserve → questions
At least Notre Dame fans can finally stop hearing about their lack of a signature win.
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fans → stop → win
Indiana falls five spots for not playing
Of all the movements Tuesday night, this might be the strangest.
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this → fall → movements
…and 44 more, not listed.
The Aporia
