First CFP Rankings of 2026: Miami Is No. 1, Georgia, Utah and Indiana Round Out the Top Four

The College Football Playoff selection committee released its first rankings of the 2026 season on Tuesday night, Nov. 3, and Miami sits at No. 1 for the first time in program history. Georgia, Utah and Indiana complete the top four, the spots that currently come with a first-round bye.

The rankings reflect games played through Saturday, Oct. 31. They are the first of six sets the committee will release before Selection Day.

First CFP top 25 of 2026

Program firsts

According to the CFP, Miami is the 11th program ever to be ranked No. 1 in the committee’s rankings and the first ACC team at the top since Clemson in 2017. Several other teams also hit new highs:

• Utah (No. 3): highest CFP ranking in program history; its previous best was No. 5.
• Kentucky (No. 6): highest ever for the Wildcats, up from a previous best of No. 9.
• Houston (No. 17): a program best, one spot better than its previous high.

Why Ohio State is No. 12, behind Indiana

The biggest debate is in Columbus. Ohio State beat Indiana 19-15 on Oct. 17, yet the Hoosiers are No. 4 and the Buckeyes are No. 12. Committee chair Hunter Yurachek, Arkansas’ athletic director, said the committee “never got to a point” of comparing the two head-to-head because of the gap between them, Eleven Warriors reported.

Yurachek pointed to Ohio State’s loss at USC last weekend, its first game without injured quarterback Julian Sayin. “They didn’t look like the same Ohio State team this past weekend against Southern Cal,” he said on ESPN. He added that the committee was more concerned about the Buckeyes’ defense giving up big plays than about the freshman quarterback.

The committee did use head-to-head results elsewhere. Alabama is No. 5, one spot ahead of Kentucky, after beating the Wildcats 45-17 in September, Eleven Warriors noted.

What the bracket would look like now

Under the 12-team format, the conference champions of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC get automatic bids, along with the highest-ranked champion from the Group of 6 conferences, NCAA.com explained. The top four teams in the rankings get byes whether or not they win their conferences.

If the season ended now, NCAA.com projects No. 25 Boise State as the No. 12 seed as the top Group of 6 team. That would leave No. 12 Ohio State and No. 13 Tennessee as the first two teams out.

The SEC leads all conferences with 10 teams in the top 25, followed by the Big Ten with six and the Big 12 with five.

Big games this weekend

NCAA.com highlighted several ranked matchups in Week 10, including No. 1 Miami at No. 11 Notre Dame, No. 2 Georgia at No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 9 BYU at No. 3 Utah and No. 23 Oregon at No. 12 Ohio State.

FAQ