One of the great things about the 12-team College Football Playoff is the expansion of teams that can legitimately say they are in the hunt deep into the season. That was the case last year and it certainly is again in a 2025 season that is trending toward being one of the most chaotic the sport has had.
As the selection committee prepares to meet Tuesday in Dallas to rank teams for the second time, I looked at the entire field to see which teams are removing themselves from CFP contention after taking losses—or simply not playing well.
Enter The Eliminator, where we’re cutting teams and seeing which ones still have (an often mathematical) chance to play for the national title. Here’s where things stand after Week 11.
College Football Playoff field after Week 11
30 teams, 22% of FBS
- ACC (7)
- Big 12 (4)
- Big Ten (5)
- SEC (7)
- Independent (1)
- American (5)
- Sun Belt (1)
Teams eliminated after Saturday
- TCU
- Iowa
- Washington
- Missouri
- Memphis
- San Diego State
Out of the playoff chase
106 teams, 78% of FBS
- ACC (10)
- Big 12 (12)
- Big Ten (13)
- SEC (9)
- Independent (1)
- American (9)
- CUSA (12)
- MAC (13)
- Mountain West (12)
- Pac-12 (2)
- Sun Belt (13)
ACC
Alive: Georgia Tech, Virginia, Pittsburgh, Louisville, SMU, Duke, Miami
As bad of a weekend as it was for the ACC on the field, there weren’t really a ton of results that started to eliminate teams from the running to make it to Charlotte for the conference title game—and therefore the playoff. If anything, losses by Virginia and Louisville further opened up the possibilities in the league, including an improbable six- or seven-way tie for one or both of the spots that first weekend in December. Things should come a bit clearer into focus in the next two weeks, but the bottom line is that things are messy in the ACC.
Eliminated: None
Out: Cal, Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, NC State, North Carolina, Stanford, Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest
Big 12
Alive: BYU, Cincinnati, Texas Tech, Utah
The Red Raiders made a statement Saturday in Lubbock as they all but secured a berth to the Big 12 title game with a win over BYU. They remain on track to host a first-round playoff game if they can keep the momentum rolling. The Red Raiders look primed to accomplish even more than that if they can convert a few more of their red zone chances. As for who they meet at AT&T Stadium in the conference title game, a slew of programs are still alive if there’s a multiteam tie with two conference losses. Right now, the Cougars remain pointed in that direction but will need to win out in order to keep others from jumping over them like what happened in 2024.
Eliminated: TCU
The Horned Frogs led Iowa State 17–6 in the fourth quarter at home but coughed up the win to take them out of the Big 12 race. Sonny Dykes’s team was comfortably ahead in yards per play and time of possession but found a way to lose a game that significantly undercuts a once-promising season.
Out: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, UCF, West Virginia
Big Ten
Alive: Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon, Michigan, USC
The Big Ten did not lack for drama in Week 11, between the suspenseful fourth quarters that the Hoosiers and Ducks needed to secure wins or the hijinks the Trojans subjected the nation to on Friday night. Either way, we remain on a pair of collision courses with significant CFP ramifications between Ohio State and Michigan to end the regular season and USC traveling to Eugene the week prior.
Eliminated: Iowa, Washington
For a few minutes, it looked like the Hawkeyes had a bit of Kinnick magic saved up for one of the league’s newcomers against Oregon—only for a perfect pass to ruin their evening and their shot at making the playoff. They still have a chance at finishing 9–3 but their résumé is not comparable to others in the at-large pool, so a nice warm-weather bowl is going to be the real postseason destination. As for the Huskies, they had a good shot at winning out or forcing a CFP-or-bust game in Seattle against Oregon to end the regular season. Alas, their offense went kaput on the road at Camp Randall to deliver one of the most puzzling results in the Big Ten this season.
Out: Minnesota, Illinois, UCLA, Maryland, Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State, Purdue, Rutgers, Wisconsin
SEC
Alive: Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Vanderbilt, Texas, Oklahoma
While we’re a few weeks away from the CFP deciding on the format for 2026, how much do you think such conversations could be shaped by the fact that the SEC is on track to get as many as five, or potentially even six, teams into the playoff field this season? That remains on the table after Vandy snuck out an overtime victory, Texas A&M and Alabama stayed unbeaten atop the conference standings and all the others involved took care of business between the lines.
Eliminated: Missouri
The Tigers’ quarterback luck—or, rather, lack thereof—this season probably doomed them to get eliminated at some point this month and getting rolled over by the Aggies finally gave them their third loss of the season to put a final pin on things. At 6–3 and trending in the wrong direction, Mizzou’s latest loss is likely more problematic to the rest in the league that would have liked to count them as a Top 25 win, but won’t come Tuesday’s selection committee rankings.
Out: Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee
Independent
Alive: Notre Dame
With Syracuse and Stanford’s offensive struggles, it sure seems like the trip to Pitt is the last thing standing between the Fighting Irish and locking up a playoff bid. They still need some help if they want to host a first-round game, but simply being in the tournament is a win for Marcus Freeman’s team after starting the season 0–2.
Out: UConn
American
Alive: Navy, Tulane, South Florida, North Texas, East Carolina
This remains one of the best conference races around given that there are five teams with one loss or fewer in the standings. The complicating factor is that Tulane and North Texas don’t play each other and it could come down to tiebreakers at the end of the season, which include everything from computer to CFP rankings determining the matchup for the league title game.
Eliminated: Memphis
You have to admire the fight from the Tigers to even make it a close game in the end against the Green Wave, but that loss at the Liberty Bowl all but ended their hopes of earning the Group of 5 bid. The worst part for the program might be that in turn allows another school to swoop in to hire head coach Ryan Silverfield away earlier than they could have done.
Out: Army, Charlotte, FAU, Rice, Temple, Tulsa, UAB, UTSA
Conference USA
Out: Kennesaw State, Jacksonville State, Western Kentucky, Missouri State, Liberty, Delaware, Louisiana Tech, Florida International, UTEP, New Mexico State, MTSU, Sam Houston
MAC
Out: Miami (Ohio), Central Michigan, Ohio, Buffalo, Western Michigan, Toledo, Ball State, Kent State, Akron, Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Eastern Michigan, UMass
Mountain West
Eliminated: San Diego State
On the bright side for the Aztecs, at least they got a nice November trip to the islands and all that comes with it. The bad news is that their CFP hopes—and the Mountain West’s—came to an end by being on the wrong side of a destruction at the hands of the Rainbow Warriors. Not what everybody wanted in 2025 after what transpired last season and ahead of a summer of realignment that will significantly reshape the conference.
Out: Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Hawai’i, Nevada, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Utah State, Wyoming
Pac-12
Out: Washington State, Oregon State
Sun Belt
Alive: James Madison
The Dukes keep taking care of business and now remain the only threat to the American from completely locking up the Group of 5 bid. It would help the Sun Belt’s chances a bunch on this front if they can start blowing out teams while Southern Miss runs the table to set up a pretty fun title game come December, too.
Out: Coastal Carolina, Marshall, Old Dominion, App State, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Southern Miss, Troy, Arkansas State, UL Monroe, Louisiana, South Alabama, Texas State
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as College Football Playoff Eliminator: Which Teams Are Out or Alive for a Berth After Week 11.
