College Football Playoff bracket, based on current committee rankings

Here’s what the College Football Playoff bracket looks like, using only the CFP selection committee’s first top 25 rankings of the 2026-27 season. These were announced on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Miami (Fla.) is ranked No. 1.

This is not the final, official CFP bracket. The committee has weekly Tuesday rankings until the final bracket and the top 25 are revealed on Sunday, Dec. 6. The bracket below is how that bracket would look based on the current rankings.

2026-27 College Football Playoff bracket

This uses the first selection committee’s top 25 rankings on Tuesday, Nov. 3. There are four more in-season rankings before the selection committee’s final rankings on Sunday, Dec. 6, when we get the official bracket.

First Round (and related quarterfinal matchups)

No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Alabama
- Winner vs. No. 4 Indiana in the quarterfinals
No. 9 BYU at No. 8 UCLA
- Winner vs. No. 1 Miami (Fla.) in the quarterfinals
No. 11 Notre Dame at No. 6 Kentucky
- Winner vs. No. 3 Utah in the quarterfinals
No. 10 Ole Miss at No. 7 Texas
- Winner vs. No. 2 Georgia in the quarterfinals

College Football Playoff rankings, seeds

The four highest-ranked teams — regardless of how they finish in their conference — receive first round byes into the quarterfinals. These teams are listed in bold. All teams in the bracket are in italics.

The ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC champions each receive an automatic bid. The highest-ranked team from the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12 and Sun Belt also received an automatic bid — and it doesn’t have to be a conference champion. Notre Dame receives an automatic bid if it’s ranked in the top 12.

Here are the initial CFP top 25 rankings.

Miami (Fla.): 8-0
Georgia: 7-1
Utah: 8-0
Indiana: 8-1
Alabama: 6-2
Kentucky: 7-1
Texas: 6-2
UCLA: 8-0
BYU: 7-1
Ole Miss: 6-2
Notre Dame: 7-1 — Last team in
Ohio State: 6-2 — First team out
Tennessee: 6-2
LSU: 6-2
Texas Tech: 7-1
Wake Forest: 7-1
Houston: 6-2
Missouri: 6-2
Iowa: 6-2
Southern Cal: 7-2
South Carolina: 5-3
Arizona: 6-2
Oregon: 5-3
Florida: 5-3
Boise State: 7-1

College Football Playoff schedule

Selections (Dec. 6)
First Round (Dec. 18-Dec. 19)
- Friday, Dec. 18
- Saturday, Dec. 19
  - 12 p.m. | ABC/ESPN
  - 3:30 p.m. | TNT/truTV/HBO Max
  - 7:30 p.m. | TNT/truTV/HBO Max
Quarterfinals (Dec. 30-Jan. 1)
- Wednesday, Dec. 30
  - Fiesta Bowl | 7:30 p.m. | TNT/truTV/HBO Max
- Friday, Jan. 1
  - Cotton Bowl
  - Rose Bowl
  - Peach Bowl
Semifinals (Jan. 14-15)
- Thursday, Jan. 14
  - Orange Bowl | 7:30 p.m. | TNT/truTV/HBO Max
- Friday, Jan. 15
  - Sugar Bowl | 7:30 p.m. | ABC/ESPN
National Championship Game
- Monday, Jan. 25
  - Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas |7:30 p.m. | ABC