Old BCS Formula Shuffles Its Top 25 After Week 9, Ahead of First Playoff Rankings

With the College Football Playoff selection committee meeting for the first time this week, an updated run of the old BCS formula offers an early sense of how the top of the sport might look when the first playoff rankings are revealed on Tuesday. The model, maintained by BCSKnowHow, blends computer rankings with human input in the same balanced approach that once decided the national championship matchup, and Week 9 results have reshuffled its Top 25.

Miami sits at the top with a .9808 score after a close 38-35 win over North Carolina, ahead of a major test against Notre Dame. Georgia climbed two places to second at .9212 following a 27-8 neutral-site win over Florida, while Utah jumped four spots to third after beating Cincinnati and staying among the nation's undefeated teams. Indiana slipped to fourth after a 23-16 overtime win over Minnesota, UCLA rose to fifth after a 27-0 shutout of Nevada, and Notre Dame fell to sixth despite a 35-13 win over Navy.

The biggest fall belonged to Ohio State, which dropped nine places to 11th after a 30-18 upset loss to USC in a game played without injured quarterback Julian Sayin. Alabama and Texas rounded out the top ten in ninth and 10th, respectively, with the Crimson Tide coming off a bye before facing LSU and Texas coming off a 31-3 win over Mississippi State.

For Tennessee, the most relevant name on the list is Kentucky, which sits seventh at .7161. The Wildcats are coming off a bye week and travel to face the Volunteers next, with kickoff set for 6:15 p.m. ET on Saturday. By this measure, Tennessee is preparing to host one of the highest-rated teams in the country, a result that would carry real weight as the playoff picture begins to take official shape.