The race for the College Football Playoff has some true contenders, and a ton of teams that are technically in the picture even if they have no chance. Every week that the College Football Playoff committee reveals their Top 25 teams, we see a constant churn of Power 4 teams that aren't deserving of a ranking continuing to move in and out of the rankings.
Where the committee has been clearly wrong is in their evaluation of the Group of 5 teams as they haven't gotten much respect. The most we've seen of the Group of 5 is one team ranked in each of the last two weeks while the first reveal didn't have any Group of 5 teams ranked.
The AP Poll is exactly how the Group of 5 should be viewed
After all of the action of Week 13, the AP released their latest Top 25 rankings on Sunday Afternoon.
BREAKING: College Football AP Poll🚨https://t.co/UNsQMYjyio pic.twitter.com/MX3sHbfcGq
— On3 (@On3sports) November 23, 2025
The biggest thing you should notice with the latest AP Poll is the fact that 3 Group of 5 teams appeared in the rankings.
James Madison has been snubbed by the College Football Playoff committee, but they've pretty clearly been the best of the Group of 5. At 10-1, James Madison just picked up its biggest resume-building win, beating Washington State. The Dukes have the best chance of any Group of 5 team to win their conference, and with just 1 loss, they've been deserving of a place in the Top 25.
North Texas has the best single unit of any team not in the Power 4, as the Mean Green have one of the most explosive offenses in the Country. The Mean Green are 10-1 on the season, with their lone loss coming against a solid USF team that could beat plenty of Power 4 teams.
Jon Sumrall's Tulane Green Wave were the committee's favorite Group of 5 team last week as they were ranked 24th. The Green Wave have suffered two losses, but one of their losses, coming against Ole Miss, isn't too damaging for their Playoff hopes.
The committee keeps disrespecting the American and the Sun Belt, and at some point it's going to get impossible to ignore the two leagues. The Group of 5 has been more than deserving of places in the Top 25, and this week we should certainly see James Madison added to the mix.