If we’re being honest, this was all set up to be a fairly straightforward top 12 in the second Playoff Poll of 2025.
Without an upset in the top 10, there wasn’t expected to be a major shakeup. The biggest question was going to be how far Texas Tech moved up and how far BYU moved down after the former took care of business to take control of the Big 12.
Outside of that, though? Well, there were some minor takeaways that could turn into major takeaways soon.
Here were the biggest developments from the second Playoff Poll of 2025:
Texas Tech moving up to No. 6 and BYU only falling to No. 12 suggests the Big 12’s 2-bid hopes are alive
I wondered if the selection committee would have the guts to move Texas Tech up 2 spots to No. 6 ahead of Ole Miss after that drubbing of undefeated BYU. That was the second time we saw the Red Raiders smash a current Playoff Top 25 team (Utah was the other one), and considering the Arizona State loss came with Behren Morton sidelined, it made sense that the selection committee gave Joey McGuire’s squad even more love on Tuesday night.
By surpassing Ole Miss, who has just 1 marquee win (at Oklahoma), the selection committee opened up the possibility of the Big 12 being a legitimate 2-bid league. BYU is the other part of that conversation. BYU stayed ahead of a 1-loss team like Georgia Tech, as well as 2-loss teams like Miami (FL) and Vanderbilt. That feels significant. If BYU and Texas Tech get a rematch in the Big 12 Championship Game, the loser could be safe in the way that SMU was last year when it didn’t get knocked for earning an extra game in the ACC Championship Game.
Not every league had the same takeaway on Tuesday night.
The ACC not having a team ranked higher than No. 15 suggests a 1-bid league is imminent
Brace for it, ACC fans. It’s happening. A 1-bid league feels more imminent than ever after aforementioned Miami came in at No. 15 and Georgia Tech clocked in at No. 16. Shoot, even Louisville got a bad draw by falling 5 spots and coming in behind fellow 2-loss Miami, who lost to the Cardinals at home. The selection committee operates in mysterious ways.
(The irony is that Miami fans argued last week that it was slighted for being ranked 8 spots behind Notre Dame, yet the Canes somehow got the benefit of the doubt with Louisville.)
It’s a strange thing to say about a conference that has depth with 5 teams ranked No. 15-22. The problem is that none of those teams can get a boost like what we saw Texas Tech get by taking down an undefeated team. Georgia Tech can still make a nice push with games against Pitt and Georgia left on the schedule, which could give Brent Key’s squad 3 more opportunities for quality wins.
The ACC’s multi-bid path is dwindling after No. 20 Louisville and No. 19 Virginia dropped from the 1-loss ranks and fell 5 spots near the back half of the top 25.
The SEC’s chaos scenario is in play
What if I told you that the SEC had 7 teams ranked ahead of the highest-ranked ACC team? You’d say that’s pretty favorable that the SEC will get 4 bids. Now what if I told you that among those 7 teams inside the top 14 (No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Georgia, No. 7 Ole Miss, No. 10 Texas, No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 14 Vanderbilt), there are only 3 matchups left among those teams? Five of them are still alive for the SEC Championship Game, too.
What’s the chaos scenario for Selection Sunday you ask?
- 11-1 Texas A&M
- 11-1 Ole Miss
- 10-2 Texas
- 10-2 Oklahoma
- 10-2 Alabama
- 10-2 Georgia
- 10-2 Vanderbilt
That can still happen. Of course, it would take A&M losing to Texas, who would also have to beat Georgia. It would also involve Oklahoma beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa, which no SEC team has done since 2019 LSU, as well as Vandy taking care of Tennessee in Neyland to close the regular season.
Will that chaos parlay hit? In all likelihood, it’ll be dead by the end of the weekend. But it’s wild to think that it’s even a possibility heading into the third Saturday of November.
And hey, the Group of 5 does exist!
Looking at you, No. 24 USF. A week after the Group of 5 was left out of the Top 25 altogether, USF cracked the rankings as the lone Group of 5 squad. In another instance of head-to-head not carrying as much weight as it probably should, 2-loss USF got the nod over 2-loss Memphis even though the latter has the head-to-head advantage. Make of that what you will. USF obviously has the win at Florida back in Week 2, and the other loss coming at Miami certainly isn’t a deal-breaker for a Group of 5 team.
With USF being slotted in there, there’s a growing sentiment that the winner of The American will get that Group of 5 bid. Shoot, if USF wins out, perhaps it could upend the ACC winner and a Power Conference could get left out of the 12-team Playoff altogether as the 5th-highest ranked conference champ (only the 4 highest-ranked conference champs get auto-bids). That still might be a tall task for USF with Navy and a potential conference title game as the only remaining opportunities to rack up respectable wins.
For the first time, the selection committee acknowledged that the Group of 5 does exist. Whether it carries enough weight to do the unthinkable remains to be seen.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
