Alabama highlights CFP’s widening split from AP poll

Alabama landed at No. 3 in Tuesday night’s College Football Playoff ranking, four spots above its No. 7 position in the AP poll. The 2026 committee’s second ranking differed more from the media poll than its second rankings in the previous two seasons.

Across the top 15, the CFP and AP rankings varied by 23 spots this week. The same comparison produced a variation of eight spots in 2025 and eight spots in 2024, when the playoff committee’s order more closely resembled the AP ballot released two days earlier.

Indiana supplied another pronounced difference this week, sitting No. 6 in the AP poll and No. 9 in the CFP ranking. The wider gaps make the committee’s order harder to predict from the AP poll than during the previous two years.

The CFP committee has never included another poll in its ranking protocol, so its members are not tasked with matching the AP. The two rankings have diverged more in 2026 under that same protocol.

The 13-member committee also has three new members this year. Former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn, Louisiana athletic director Bryan Maggard and former California coach Jeff Tedford replaced three outgoing members. Whether the wider gap stems from the membership changes or a shift in team evaluation remains unsettled.

Why it matters

Alabama’s four-spot difference is among the clearest examples of the committee departing from the AP poll. Across the top 15, the variation increased from eight spots in each of the previous two seasons to 23 spots in 2026.