Ranked wins carry immense weight when College Football Playoff résumés are scrutinized early next month ahead of the selection committee's first rankings. And at midseason, there are already a few teams that have stacked multiple victories over top-25 opponents, while another dozen have at least one signature result to bring to the CFP debate room.
Overall records matter, too, and two losses hurt right now.
That's where this conversation starts to get interesting, by the way, ahead of next season's expected 24-team expansion. All those 9-3 SEC teams are essentially locks to reach the CFP next fall, but this year's group will face high-end adversaries from the Big 12 -- and perhaps Notre Dame -- to try and keep them out.
If Saturday's record-setting barrage of upsets is any indication, it appears nobody's safe from potentially taking another loss -- or two -- the rest of the way.
What constitutes a "ranked" win? We're determining those by the CFP's definition: victories over teams currently ranked in the top 25. For this exercise, we're using the latest AP Top 25. So, LSU's win over Texas A&M in Week 4, for instance, does not count as a ranked victory since the Aggies are outside of the current national rankings.
Three of the six teams with multiple ranked wins this season are from the SEC, which should show up in a few weeks as the CFP selection committee adds another data point -- conference strength -- to its metrics.
BYU (6-0)
Ranked wins: Arizona, Notre Dame
Remaining games against ranked teams: Utah
Kalani Sitake's team made a statement heard 'round the sport with its top-10 win over the Fighting Irish, one of the best non-conference victories this fall. It almost guarantees the Big 12 will be a two-bid league in the playoff as long as Utah and Texas Tech keep winning. After failing to reach the 12-team bracket last year despite an 11-2 finish, the Cougars may have punched their ticket with their Week 7 triumph, especially if Notre Dame wins out as a top-tier title threat.
Ohio State (6-1)
Remaining games against ranked teams: USC, Northwestern
No team in the Big Ten has a better resume at midseason than the Buckeyes with two ranked victories, but their loss at Texas is beginning to age poorly. The Longhorns are reeling with back-to-back losses to unranked foes after climbing to No. 1 in the rankings and erasing a 20-point deficit in the matchup that Ohio State appeared to have in hand after the third quarter. Losing quarterback Julian Sayin for an extended period of time is a factor the CFP selection committee will consider moving forward if Ohio State gets tripped up over the next few weeks. It could also affect CFP seeding if Sayin is not back to full strength by the end of November, like it did for Florida State's Jordan Travis situation back in 2023.
Ole Miss (5-1)
Ranked wins: LSU, Missouri
Remaining games against ranked teams: Texas, Georgia
As long as the Rebels split upcoming showdowns with the Longhorns and Bulldogs, they're going back to the CFP under Pete Golding. That goal appeared shaky a few weeks ago following the blowout loss at Florida, but Ole Miss recovered defensively in the weeks since that one, and Saturday's outing against Missouri might've been the team's most complete this fall. Ole Miss also has something only one of the other teams in this grouping possesses -- a proven, dynamic quarterback who can win a game by himself in the fourth quarter.
Florida (5-2)
Ranked wins: Ole Miss, Texas
Remaining games against ranked teams: Georgia, Kentucky
When you play in the SEC, there's always a chance to garner attention. Like many who have compared that league to the NFL's weekly grind this season, Jon Sumrall was shockingly honest after grading his team's performance in Saturday's win at Texas with backup quarterback Tramell Jones. While he commended his team for showing fight and growth, Sumrall was blunt in his assessment of where the Gators are at as they approach Week 8.
"Like I've watched this practice; we're not very good. We still suck. We just suck less, all right," Sumrall said. "And so we have to figure out to suck less each week. But we're not like a complete team yet. Like this is, so it does nothing for us. What it does for us, it gets us another win."
Texas (4-2)
Ranked wins: Ohio State, Tennessee
Remaining games against ranked teams: Ole Miss, Missouri, LSU
Steve Sarkisian vowed to "evaluate everything" following Saturday's home to Florida, one that took the Longhorns out of our CFP projection entering Week 8. This is the same Gators program that kept Texas out of last season's playoff bracket with an upset win and might've done it again despite the Longhorns' solid collection of wins. Winning out puts Texas in the playoff with a first-round home game, but is that possible given the quarterback issues and defensive worries now that Colin Simmons -- who leads the country in sacks -- could be sidelined with an injury? Stock on Texas is tumbling fast after back-to-back red weekends.
Oregon (4-2)
Ranked wins: Boise State, USC
Remaining games against ranked teams: Ohio State, Northwestern
It'll take the best coaching performance of Dan Lanning's career to get there, but the Ducks do control their own destiny in the CFP picture, which is all you can ask at midseason for a team that has largely underachieved this fall. After starting the preseason in the top 5 before being humbled early at Oklahoma State, Oregon's timetable for quarterback Dante Moore's return is unknown as the Ducks' offense focuses on the ongoing competition between Dylan Raiola and Brock Thomas. Raiola came off the bench to lead Saturday night's 17-14 win over Nebraska, and Lanning offered no update on Moore, who remains out following his concussion against USC earlier this season. Right now, it's the resume that is keeping Oregon within striking distance of the top-12 as a potential at-large team.
Other Power Four teams with top-25 wins this season
| SCHOOL | RECORD | TOP 25 WIN |
|---|---|---|
4-2 | Georgia | |
Georgia | 6-1 | |
Missouri | 5-2 | Florida |
Indiana | 6-1 | Northwestern |
Kentucky | 6-1 | LSU |
4-3 | ||
Alabama | 5-2 | Kentucky |
6-0 | ||
4-2 | Missouri | |
3-3 | Florida | |
3-3 | Texas | |
Texas Tech | 6-0 |
Schedules of note
Three of those teams above with a single top-25 win are among the five Power Four's remaining unbeaten. Not listed are UCLA and Utah, who don't yet have a quality win. The Utes have an opportunity in Week 8 against Houston, while Bob Chesney's Bruins won't play a nationally ranked opponent until the regular-season finale against USC.
UCLA did beat Oregon on Oct. 10, but the Ducks haven't yet reappeared in the AP poll. That'll happen if Oregon beats Illinois and Northwestern over the next two games before a season-defining trip to Ohio State on Nov. 7.
Alabama lost one of its ranked wins after Mississippi State's 31-point loss at LSU on Saturday; elsewhere in the SEC, keep an eye on Tennessee. The Vols' ranked win came against the Crimson Tide in dominant fashion, but there's a chance another one materializes if Auburn keeps it up after upsetting Georgia.
Tennessee hosts 12th-ranked Kentucky and No. 18 LSU in November, so the Vols will have every opportunity to make their second CFP appearance under Josh Heupel.
Fourth-ranked Notre Dame, which only dropped two spots following its last-second loss at BYU, doesn't have a ranked win and gets two chances at a first the rest of the way (Miami and SMU). The Fighting Irish were projected with the last-team-in designation on Sunday in our latest CFP prediction.
