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The College Football Playoff selection committee released its first set of rankings on Tuesday night, setting the stage for the final stretch of the 2025 season. With each new release of College Football Playoff rankings comes a slew of complaints and controversy — and Tuesday night’s first set of rankings was no different. In an SEC teleconference call on Wednesday, Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz was asked for his thoughts on the selection committee’s performance — specifically in reference to its new strength of schedule metric. “The top two teams’ [Ohio State, Indiana] schedule rankings and strength of schedule is in the mid-30s,” Drinkwitz said. “[Texas] A&M is in the top five. They were ranked [No.] 3. So I don’t know what’s changed.” NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – OCTOBER 25: Head Coach Eli Drinkwitz on the sideline in the second half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at FirstBank Stadium on October 25, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images) More Football: Clemson’s Dabo Swinney Doubles Down After Major ACC Punishment Drinkwitz wants to get rid of the selection committee altogether. “The reality is college football needs to be decided on the field,” the Missouri coach continued. “There needs to be play-in games. There’s not another sport in the country that is decided, besides NCAA basketball, NCAA baseball and NCAA football, by committees. Like, decide it on the field. Just like pro sports do.” Missouri ranks No. 22 in the first set of College Football Playoff rankings. The 6-2 Tigers have lost two of their last three matchups, falling to the No. 8 Alabama Crimson Tide and No. 10 Vanderbilt Commodores in closely-contested games. Drinkwitz and his Missouri squad now have an uphill battle to make the 12-team College Football Playoff field. That said, a win over the No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies this weekend would go a long way for the Tigers’ postseason hopes. Coming in at #️⃣2️⃣2️⃣ in the initial @CFBPlayoff rankings#MIZ | #CFBPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/pjFOCbu3jK— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) November 5, 2025 More Football: Kirk Herbstreit Spills Inside Details on Nick Saban Coaching Rumors After Saturday’s matchup against the Aggies, Missouri will close out its regular-season schedule with matchups against Mississippi State, No. 12 Oklahoma and Arkansas. The College Football Playoff selection committee will release a new set of rankings every Tuesday leading up to this year’s postseason.
