CFP rankings Week 11 winners and losers: Indiana falls below 2-loss SEC crowd, ACC jilted

CFP rankings Week 11 winners and losers: Indiana falls below 2-loss SEC crowd, ACC jilted originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The College Football Playoff committee is just giving Curt Cignetti more material for his radio show.

Last week, during the Hoosiers' bye week, Cignetti made the accusation that the SEC gets a "lot of love" from ESPN, and that was the reason why two-loss Big Ten teams were behind two-loss SEC teams.

So what will he say after Indiana slipped from No. 4 to No. 9 in the second set of CFP rankings, which were released Tuesday? How are you going to drop five spots on your week off?

Cignetti drops his initial thoughts on the CFP Rankings… and well… https://t.co/PtDypsUCpU

— Kirkwood & Dunn (@KirkwoodandDunn) November 5, 2026

To Cignetti's point, No. 3 Alabama (7-2), No. 6 Tennessee (7-2) and No. 8 Texas (7-2) all are ranked ahead of Indiana (8-1), which seems like a bit of overkill knowing the Hoosiers are one Nick Marsh foot out of bounds from being undefeated and in the driver's seat in the Big Ten.

The messaging is more consequential than that. Indiana plays No. 18 USC (7-2) at Memorial Stadium on Saturday. If this is how the Hoosiers – who have four one-score victories in Big Ten play – are going to be treated with one loss, could it get dicey for the defending national champions with a second loss? We can't wait to hear what Cignetti has to say about that this week.

Here are the other winners and losers from the second set of CFP rankings.

MORE: Here's what a 24-team bracket would look like

CFP Rankings winners & losers

Winners

Notre Dame

The Irish (8-1) moved up six spots to No. 5 – which should have been their spot last week. The committee honored the 31-24 victory against Miami (8-1) as a signature victory and the Hurricanes fell to No. 7. It should stay that way given the precedent set last season when the Hurricanes made the CFP ahead of the Irish.

It's a pretty straight-forward path for Notre Dame back to the playoff if they win against Boston College, SMU and Syracuse the next three weeks. Remember, Notre Dame gets an automatic berth if they finish in the top 12, and they might be able to lose one more game at this point. The only part we don't like? The Irish are on the same side of the bracket as No. 1 Georgia (8-1). Those are the two teams we would like to put in the CFP championship game now.

UCLA

The Bruins (9-0) bumped up four spots to No. 4, which means a potential bye for the clubhouse leader in the Big Ten. It's part of a remarkable first season under coach Bob Chesney, one more made more impressive with backup quarterback Ty Dieffenbach settling in as the starter behind a strong running game and defense.

UCLA closes the season against Illinois, Michigan and USC, with the regular-season finale against the Trojans shaping up as a Big Ten rivalry game that will overshadow Ohio State-Michigan on Rivalry Week. Imagine telling that to a Big Ten fan five years ago. The Bruins are looking good for a playoff berth no matter what if they win two of the next three games.

BYU

The Cougars (7-2) are still in the top 10 despite a 28-20 loss to No. 2 Utah (9-0) in the "Holy War." BYU is one of six Big 12 teams in the rankings, which is even with the Big Ten and three behind the SEC. That's significant down the rankings too, where No. 14 Houston (7-2) is one spot ahead of No. 15 Iowa (7-2). That's a conversation about conference strength that could help the Big 12 get multiple teams in this year's field.

Should BYU be ranked this high with two losses? That's debatable, but the 28-24 victory against Notre Dame on Oct. 17 is a nice card to play later.

MORE: A guide to how the 24-team playoff will work

Losers

Miami

The Hurricanes lost at Notre Dame without star receiver Malachi Toney, who is out with a high-ankle sprain. This feels like the committee valued that injury more than the Hurricanes' furious second-half comeback against the Irish. Miami still has quarterback Darian Mensah, and the Hurricanes lead the FBS with 45 points per game.

Texas, which has two losses against unranked teams, should not be ranked ahead of the Hurricanes. It's a bit of not-so-subtle messaging to the ACC as a whole, and a sign that Miami better not mess around against Duke (7-2) – a school Mensah led to the ACC championship last season – in Week 11.

Wake Forest

What do the Demon Deacons need to do to get inside the 12-team field? Wake Forest averages 43.3 points per game and has scored 40-plus points in four of their last six games. That's not enough for one of the surprise teams of 2026 under Jake Dickert, and the committee did the Demon Deacons no favors by dropping SMU (7-2) out of the Top 25 ahead of this week's matchup.

This suggests that Wake Forest, which lost 33-20 to Miami on Sept. 18, has to win the ACC championship to get into the College Football Playoff. The ACC is shaping up to be a one-bid league.

Texas Tech

The Red Raiders have head-to-head victories against No. 14 Houston and No. 23 Arizona, and yet they are behind two-loss BYU. That doesn't make sense. The committee seemingly penalized for a 53-48 shootout against West Virginia in a game where the teams combined for 1,220 total yards. That's Big 12 football, right?

If they didn't like that, what will they think when the Red Raiders do that again this week against No. 25 Oklahoma State and star quarterback Drew Mestemaker? Texas Tech should be ranked ahead of BYU, a problem that will correct itself if the Red Raiders win out and return to the Big 12 championship game, which appears to be the only path toward getting back to the playoff for the second straight season.

CFP Top 25 Rankings

A look at the CFP rankings heading into Week 11: