Though the College Football Playoff Committee will do what committees do and muck things up, Oregon climbed to their highest ranking of the year when the AP and Coaches Polls were released Sunday morning.
In both the Ducks climbed to No. 4 ahead of Ole Miss, Texas Tech and Texas A&M, behind only Georgia among 11-1 teams. Oklahoma, Alabama, and Notre Dame are safely inside the playoff bubble at eight, nine and ten.
No. 11 BYU plays No. 5 Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship Game Saturday December 6, 9 a.m. PT on ABC. AP No. 3 Georgia plays No. 10 Alabama in the SEC Championship, 1 p.m. PT on ABC.
Firmly in position to host a home playoff game, the Ducks have three weeks to wrap up recruiting and portal scouting and GET HEALTHY ahead of their playoff game. The seedings will shift after championship week and it's a bit premature to speculate where Oregon lands and what their seed will be-- the committee deviates from the polls and gives weight to conference championships.
The AP Poll for Week 15 just dropped 🚨 pic.twitter.com/BxUNCRAaJf
— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) November 30, 2025
Lobbying will get intense. Already SEC honks are arguing for Texas to get in despite a 9-3 record, or Alabama to advance even if they lose to Georgia, two months after topping them 24-21 in Athens back in September.
The ranking gets complicated, but Oregon is insured of a home playoff game
Oregon is in and at home in the first round at 11-1, their third straight season of 11 wins or more. How the bracket looks and who they will host depends on strength of schedule, strength of record, advanced stats and playoff committee politics. They've done everything possible to earn the best possible route with a strong November, beating 8-4 Iowa, 7-5 Minnesota, 8-4 USC and 8-4 Washington in four straight weeks, running a gauntlet of their own.
At 10-2 with two conference losses, Mario Cristobal and MIami are out of the ACC Championship game and in danger of being shut out of the playoff, battling with Oklahoma, Utah, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame and others for the final couple of spots, with the five highest-ranked conference champions and at least one Group of Five team guaranteed a spot.
Here are two projected brackets from college football experts, both placing the Ducks at No. 6.
Week 14 playoff bracket: pic.twitter.com/LKsyP9CMx2
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 26, 2025
My College Football Playoff Bracket Prediction
— EGE MJ Melendez Enthusiast (@mjmelendez_stan) November 30, 2025
Notes:
- Oklahoma is above UVA, but the Committee avoids the SEC/SEC/SEC seed line with Georgia, even though the 3 haven't played
- BYU is the team to lose out due to PLAYING in the CC Game (I don't agree, just a prediction) pic.twitter.com/bgC1RVBKsV
With supersized conferences creating deeply unbalanced schedules (a lack of common opponents among contending teams, even among teams from the same league) debate could be prolonged and nasty with little clarity. It will only increase pressure for playoff expansion in the future, especially since that's where the money is.
For now, Oregon is in, probably facing an 11-seed, then a three-seed in the quarterfinals. Their immediate priority is to get healthy and organized themselves for a playoff run.
Though the Ducks are currently No. 4 in the AP and the Coaches, it's unlikely they'll stay there in the College Football Playoff Poll, as conference championship winners will get a bump. This year it's straight seeding, however, so they can't fall far, no lower than No. 7.