Bold claim: a historic showdown is on the horizon as No. 1 Ohio State faces No. 2 Indiana in the Big Ten Championship, marking the first time the top two teams meet in this game in Indianapolis.
The CFP committee kept Ohio State and Indiana at the top for a fifth straight week, with both programs leading the initial top five over Georgia, Texas Tech, and Oregon. The ranking pack also included Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Alabama, Notre Dame, BYU, and Miami in the top 12.
CFP Rankings — Week 14
Rank Team Record Conference
1 OHIO STATE 12-0 Big Ten
2 INDIANA 12-0 Big Ten
3 GEORGIA 11-1 SEC
4 TEXAS TECH 11-1 Big 12
5 OREGON 11-1 Big Ten
6 OLE MISS 11-1 SEC
7 TEXAS A&M 11-1 SEC
8 OKLAHOMA 10-2 SEC
9 ALABAMA 10-2 SEC
10 NOTRE DAME 10-2 FBS Independents
11 BYU 11-1 Big 12
12 MIAMI (FL) 10-2 ACC
13 TEXAS 9-3 SEC
14 VANDERBILT 10-2 SEC
15 UTAH 10-2 Big 12
16 USC 9-3 Big Ten
17 VIRGINIA 10-2 ACC
18 ARIZONA 9-3 Big 12
19 MICHIGAN 9-3 Big Ten
20 TULANE 10-2 American Athletic
21 HOUSTON 9-3 Big 12
22 GEORGIA TECH 9-3 ACC
23 IOWA 8-4 Big Ten
24 NORTH TEXAS 11-1 American Athletic
25 JAMES MADISON 11-1 Sun Belt
Beyond the headliner of Ohio State vs. Indiana, this weekend’s conference championship slate includes a diverse lineup of matchups:
Friday
- Conference USA: Kennesaw State vs. Jacksonville State (7 p.m. on CBSSN)
- Sun Belt: Troy vs. No. 25 James Madison (7 p.m. on ESPN)
- American: No. 24 North Texas vs. No. 20 Tulane (8 p.m. on ABC)
- Mountain West: UNLV vs. Boise State (8 p.m. on FOX)
Saturday
- MAC: Miami (Ohio) vs. Western Michigan (Noon on ESPN)
- Big 12: No. 11 BYU vs. No. 4 Texas Tech (Noon on ABC)
- SEC: No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 9 Alabama (4 p.m. on ABC)
- ACC: Duke vs. No. 17 Virginia (8 p.m. on ABC)
- Big Ten: No. 2 Indiana vs. No. 1 Ohio State (8 p.m. on FOX)
Ohio State closed the regular season undefeated. The Buckeyes began with a 14-7 win over No. 13 Texas, followed by ten consecutive wins against unranked opponents, culminating in a 27-9 victory over No. 19 Michigan in The Game.
Currently, Ohio State sits atop the CFP, AP, and Coaches Polls. They also lead Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings and ESPN’s Power Index. Notably, ESPN lists Ohio State second in strength of record, behind Indiana, yet Ohio State sits first in game control—a metric evaluating how consistently a team managed games against a top-25 schedule. Indiana stands fourth in that same metric.
The winner of the Big Ten Championship Game will earn the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff and a trip to the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2026. With the top four teams receiving first-round byes, the loser is likely to drop in the rankings but should still remain in the top four overall.
