Story by
Where is Texas Tech football in the initial CFP ranking? First spots revealed
- Story by
- Where is Texas Tech football in the initial CFP ranking? First spots revealed
This story has been updated to add comment from CFP selection committee chairman Mack Rhoades.
The Texas Tech football team is No. 8 in this season's first release of the College Football Playoff ranking.
Advertisement
That spot, if the Red Raiders remained there after conference championship games, would have them hosting a first-round playoff game at Jones AT&T Stadium .
The rankings were released live on ESPN on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Selection committee chairman Mack Rhoades, who is athletics director at Baylor, pointed to Tech's 34-10 win at Utah as a strong data point. He suggested its 26-22 loss at Arizona State , without starting quarterback Behren Morton and on a last-minute touchdown by the Sun Devils , might help the Red Raiders as much or more than it hurts.
More: Here's where ESPN's College GameDay will set up for Texas Tech football game
Advertisement
More: Texas Tech football's David Bailey, Jacob Rodriguez make cut as awards semifinalists
"Texas Tech, great respect for them," Rhoades said. "Going into Utah — and again, we've got Utah ranked at 13 — but going into Utah and winning at Utah, we thought was a really, really quality, quality win. The loss at Arizona State without Behren at quarterback, Arizona State wins that late. So we do talk about quality wins. We also talk about quality losses. But Texas Tech, just a really, really good football team."
In tongue-in-cheek fashion, Rhoades added, "We tried to help ESPN out with their ratings, getting BYU and Texas Tech together with GameDay in Lubbock, so enjoy that."
On Sunday, Tech was No. 9 in both the US LBM Coaches Poll and The Associated Press Top 25. The Red Raiders (8-1, 5-1 in the Big 12 ) host Brigham Young (8-0, 5-0) at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8. ESPN's College GameDay will be on hand for the first matchup of top-10 teams in the Big 12 since 2021.
Advertisement
This week is the first time Tech's been in the CFP rankings, which began in 2014.
The top five, in order, are Ohio State , Indiana, Texas A&M, Alabama and Georgia. Nos. 6 through 10 are Ole Miss , BYU, Texas Tech, Oregon and Notre Dame.
In the first round of the CFP, played at campus sites, the No. 8 seed hosts the No. 9 seed. If the teams stayed in their initial ranking, Tech would host Oregon on Friday, Dec. 19 or Saturday, Dec. 20.
The Red Raiders haven't won more than eight games in a season since a three-year stretch when they finished 9-4 in 2007, 11-2 in 2008 and 9-4 in 2009. This is only 12th time that Tech has won at least eight of its first nine games.
Nov 1, 2025; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders running back Cameron Dickey (8) celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images
Teams the committee ranked 11 through 15 are Texas, Oklahoma , Utah, Virginia and Louisville . Ranked 16 through 20 are Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech , Miami (Fla.), Southern California and Iowa . Rounding out the 25 are Michigan , Missouri , Washington, Pittsburgh and Tennessee .
Advertisement
2025 College Football Playoff Schedule
FIRST ROUND: Friday, Dec. 19 and Saturday, Dec. 20 at higher-seeded school
QUARTERFINALS: Wednesday, Dec. 31: Cotton Bowl (Dallas), 6:30 p.m.; Thursday, Jan. 1: Orange Bowl (Miami), 11 a.m.; Rose Bowl (Pasadena, California), 3 p.m.; Sugar Bowl (New Orleans), 7 p.m.
SEMIFINALS: Thursday, Jan. 8: Fiesta Bowl (Phoenix), 6:30 p.m.; Friday, Jan. 9: Peach Bowl (Atlanta), 6:30 p.m.
FINALS: Monday, Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium (Miami), 6:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: See where Texas Tech football sits in the initial CFP ranking
