Miami led the way as the No. 1 seed Tuesday in the initial College Football Playoff rankings for the 2026 season.
Last year's national runner-up is one of three remaining undefeated teams in the country and sits in top spot ahead of No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Utah, and No. 4 Indiana.
Jump to: Bracket | Takeaways and analysis
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami | 8-0 |
| 2 | Georgia | 7-1 |
| 3 | Utah | 8-0 |
| 4 | Indiana | 8-1 |
| 5 | Alabama | 6-2 |
| 6 | Kentucky | 7-1 |
| 7 | Texas | 6-2 |
| 8 | UCLA | 8-0 |
| 9 | BYU | 7-1 |
| 10 | Ole Miss | 6-2 |
| 11 | Notre Dame | 7-1 |
| 12 | Ohio State | 6-2 |
The biggest surprise in the 12-team field came with the Nos. 4 and 5 slots. No. 4 Indiana boasts an impressive 8-1 record, however, the Hoosiers' lone loss came to Ohio State, which sits eight spots lower with a 6-2 record. That gulf between the two programs suggests the committee might be taking the injury to Buckeyes starting quarterback Julian Sayin into account.
Alabama sitting at the No. 5 slot also raises some questions as the Crimson Tide have the same 6-2 record as a number of other SEC schools, most notably No. 13 Tennessee. The Volunteers beat Alabama 26-10 earlier this season, but are eight places back of the Tide in Tuesday's rankings.
Boise State comes in at No. 25 in the rankings, but would grab the 12th seed over Ohio State in the playoff as the top-ranked program from the Group of 6.
| Rank | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Tennessee | 6-2 |
| 14 | LSU | 6-2 |
| 15 | Texas Tech | 7-1 |
| 16 | Wake Forest | 7-1 |
| 17 | Houston | 6-2 |
| 18 | Missouri | 6-2 |
| 19 | Iowa | 6-2 |
| 20 | USC | 7-2 |
| 21 | South Carolina | 5-3 |
| 22 | Arizona | 6-2 |
| 23 | Oregon | 5-3 |
| 24 | Florida | 5-3 |
| 25 | Boise State | 7-1 |
Current bracket
Byes: Miami, Georgia, Utah, Indiana
First-round matchups
- No. 5 Alabama vs. No. 12 Boise State
- No. 6 Kentucky vs. No. 11 Notre Dame
- No. 7 Texas vs. No. 10 Ole Miss
- No. 8 UCLA vs. No. 9 BYU
Takeaways and analysis
Committee can't quit Alabama (again)
Everyone should strive to find someone in their life that loves them as unconditionally as the CFP committee loves Alabama. The Crimson Tide didn't just squeeze into the initial 12-team field, they somehow ended up at No. 5? Alabama sports a 6-2 record with a close loss to Georgia and a blowout defeat at Tennessee this season. Surely those teams are both ahead of Kalen DeBoer's squad, right? Not quite. The Bulldogs justifiably sit at No. 2 with a 7-1 mark, but the Volunteers somehow find themselves eight spots behind the Tide at No. 13.
Committee chair Hunter Yurachek pointed to Alabama's three wins over Kentucky, South Carolina, and Mississippi State as data points that impressed.
"I think you look first at Alabama, went on the road and beat the team that we have ranked sixth this week in Kentucky," he said on ESPN. "They also beat South Carolina, who's ranked in our top 25. And I think many forgot that they went on the road and beat Mississippi State when Mississippi State was undefeated and at full strength."
Fine. But what about Tennessee?
"Tennessee doesn't have the same level of quality wins," Yurachek continued. "They do have the win against Alabama, but you have to go a little deeper to see Tennessee with another quality win on the schedule."
Of course, this probably shouldn't matter after this weekend when Tennessee faces No. 6 Kentucky and Alabama gets No. 14 LSU, but Tuesday showed us once again the committee just can't quit the Tide.
Eye test matters for Ohio State, not for Indiana
Indiana might be a top-4 team in the country, but the Hoosiers sitting in that spot on Tuesday - eight places ahead of Ohio State - was downright mystifying. Indiana saw its 22-game winning streak snapped by the Buckeyes just three weeks ago, and has needed overtime to beat unranked Michigan and unranked Minnesota since. However, those close finishes didn't seem to deter the committee one bit in placing Indiana at No. 4.
Ohio State, on the other hand, didn't have that luxury, with the committee clearly docking the Buckeyes for the injury to Julian Sayin. A west-coast road trip last weekend resulted in a loss to No. 20 USC in Luke Fahey's first career start as quarterback. That result saw the committee drop Ohio State all the way to No. 12 with reasoning that sure sounded a lot like the eye test that Indiana doesn't have to worry about.
"I think the committee still has a lot of respect for Ohio State and who they are as a football team this year, and they do have a very impressive win on the road at Indiana that came down to a wire to a catch in the end zone that would just miss by inches, but they didn't look like the same Ohio State team this past weekend against Southern Cal," Yurachek said.
Notre Dame better beat Miami
Word to the Pop-Tarts Bowl committee: Don't bother preparing an invitation for Notre Dame if it loses to Miami this weekend. The Fighting Irish opted out of that bowl last season after being denied a place in the 12-team playoff, and look destined to miss out once again if they can't beat the undefeated Hurricanes on Saturday in South Bend. The committee simply doesn't respect Notre Dame's resume to date, placing it 11th in the field Tuesday.
"They are a very good football team, but when you look at Notre Dame's schedule, and the wins they have versus the teams that are ahead of them, they don't have that signature win right now," Yurachek explained. "They lost in their only top-25 matchup at BYU. Their next-best win is at a neutral site against Wisconsin. They've got a great opportunity in front of them this weekend at home versus Miami to get that signature win that I think they need to move up in the rankings."
Notre Dame seemed to have a safety net this season to avoid being left out on selection day once again.
A new rule in the CFP guaranteed the Irish a spot in the field if they were ranked inside the committee's top 12 in the final rankings. However, Tuesday's reveal showed us that likely won't matter if Miami walks out of Notre Dame Stadium a winner on Saturday.
