Overview
- The College Football Playoff selection committee published its first Top 25 on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, placing Miami at No. 1, Georgia No. 2 and Utah No. 3 and projecting Miami, Georgia, Utah and Indiana as the four teams that would earn first-round byes.
- Notre Dame was listed at No. 11 and is the last team inside the projected 12-team field while Ohio State sat at No. 12 and would be the first team out under the current bracket; Boise State at No. 25 holds the Group-of-Six automatic bid.
- Commentators and committee remarks highlighted surprising placements such as Alabama at No. 5 and the heavy SEC presence, which multiple outlets linked to the selection committee’s newly enhanced conference-opponent strength metric that weighs the quality of conference schedules.
- The rankings set up a consequential Week 10 slate — notably Miami at Notre Dame, BYU at Utah, Georgia at Ole Miss and Alabama at LSU — that analysts say is likely to cause meaningful movement in future CFP polls.
- Under the 12-team format the field includes the five highest-ranked conference champions plus seven at-large teams, the top four seeds receive byes, and historical patterns suggest teams inside the first six of these initial rankings are far more likely to reach the final playoff field.