Miami, Georgia, Utah, and Notre Dame would secure the top four seeds in a hypothetical 12-team College Football Playoff bracket based on The Associated Press Top 25 poll released on Sunday, November 1, 2026. Under this projection, Miami would be the top seed, followed by Georgia at No. 2, Utah at No. 3, and Notre Dame at No. 4. These top four teams would receive first-round byes in the playoff system.
The shift in the projected rankings followed a weekend where Ohio State lost to Southern California and Indiana dropped two spots in the AP poll after a victory over Minnesota in overtime. In the current format, the five highest-ranked conference champions from the Power Four and one Group of Six conference qualify for the playoffs, while the remaining seven spots are awarded to the next-highest-ranked teams as at-large bids.
According to the AP projections, the Southeastern Conference would lead all conferences with four teams in the bracket. The Big Ten follows with three, the Big 12 with two, and the Atlantic Coast Conference and Pac-12 with one each. Boise State is currently projected as the top Group of Six champion, representing the Pac-12. Mississippi, ranked No. 12 by the AP, would be the first team excluded from the bracket to accommodate Boise State.
The inclusion of a Group of Six representative like Boise State ensures that smaller-market programs and their athletic departments gain access to the playoff. Fans of at-large contenders such as Alabama, Kentucky, UCLA, Indiana, BYU, Texas, and Ohio State would see their teams host or travel for first-round games on December 18 and 19. These home games represent potential economic drivers for college towns.
The next step in the selection process occurs on Tuesday night, November 3, 2026, when the official College Football Playoff selection committee releases its first set of rankings. These official rankings will continue weekly until the final 12-team bracket is established on December 6. Following the first round in mid-December, quarterfinals are scheduled for December 30 and January 1, with semifinals on January 14 and 15. The national championship game is scheduled for January 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.