4 Takeaways From the Second CFP Rankings Release of 2025

The College Football Playoff committee showed its hand, and it was full of confusion, inconsistency and a lot of affection for Iowa.

If you were hoping Tuesday night would bring some clarity, think again. Iowa’s getting love after a home loss, Miami is the highest ranked team in the ACC, and the Group of 6 continues to get snubbed.

Here are my takeaways from this week’s CFP rankings.

1. The committee loves Iowa

It’s not just that Iowa remains ranked in the CFP committee’s top 25 — it’s that the Hawkeyes were allowed to stay there after suffering their 12th straight loss to an AP top-10 team, and their second such defeat this season.

The Hawkeyes don’t really have a shot at the CFP, with five Big Ten teams ranked ahead of them, including two that have beaten them head-to-head. And yet CFP chair Mack Rhoades cited Indiana and Oregon’s wins over Iowa as key markers in justifying each program’s place near the top of this week’s rankings.

It makes you wonder: how high would the committee rank the Hawkeyes if they’d managed to upset either Indiana or Oregon? Perhaps we’ll find out this weekend against USC.

Tight end D.J. Vonnahme #81 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates a touchdown in the first half against the Oregon Ducks.  (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

2. The Hoosiers are the apple of the CFP committee’s eye

Importantly, Indiana’s wins over Oregon and Iowa also factored into the Hoosiers staying ranked ahead of Texas A&M, despite A&M’s victories over Notre Dame and previously ranked Missouri this season.

Rhoades made sure to praise Indiana's road wins at Oregon and Iowa while downplaying Texas A&M’s win over Missouri — because, as he noted, the Tigers started a true freshman quarterback.

But this is the same