The College Football Playoff selection committee will reveal its first Top 25 of the 2026 season on Tuesday, and nine weeks of upsets leave several contenders with resumes that are difficult to separate after Miami and Georgia.

The initial CFP rankings arrive during ESPN’s 7-8 p.m. ET show, the first of six releases before Selection Day on Dec. 6. Our projection keeps undefeated Miami at No. 1 but places Utah above Indiana, BYU above Notre Dame and Texas above Ohio State.

Projecting top 12 CFP rankings

1. Miami Hurricanes (8-0)

Miami owns four ACC road wins, including a 33-20 victory at Wake Forest that remains the Demon Deacons’ only loss. A double-overtime escape against Florida State and Saturday’s grind at North Carolina dent the profile. Still, the Hurricanes are unbeaten, and Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney give them two Heisman candidates.

2. Georgia Bulldogs (7-1)

Georgia won at Alabama and handled Florida in Atlanta on Saturday, a stronger pair of wins than anything Miami has posted. The Bulldogs average 41 points and allow 14.9 per game. The 27-24 home loss to Auburn is the only reason they open behind the Hurricanes.

3. Utah Utes (8-0)

Utah has won in different ways: a 43-10 rout of Arkansas, a 31-17 win at Iowa State and a comeback against Houston. The Utes also led Cincinnati 42-6 at halftime Saturday, one week after the Bearcats beat Texas Tech. The 27-24 escape at Colorado counts against them, but an unbeaten Utah has a stronger case than one-loss Indiana.

4. BYU Cougars (7-1)

BYU’s 28-24 win over Notre Dame on Oct. 17 is the best head-to-head result in the top five, and the Cougars also beat Arizona. The double-overtime loss at UCF hurts, though it followed an end-of-regulation officiating error, according to rules analyst Terry McAulay. With both teams at 7-1, the committee shouldn’t flip the result in Provo.

5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-1)

Notre Dame has been the more dominant team, beating Wisconsin 41-13 at a neutral site and winning at Purdue and North Carolina. The Irish pulled away from Navy on Saturday with 21 unanswered points after a slow first half. Their lone loss came at BYU, and they still lack a signature win. Miami’s Nov. 7 trip to South Bend offers one.

6. UCLA Bruins (8-0)

UCLA’s 17-15 win at Oregon came with Ducks quarterback Dante Moore sidelined, which lowers its value. However, the Bruins also held Wisconsin to seven points in a 17-7 win. Bob Chesney’s first team hasn’t lost, while Indiana has needed overtime in each of its last two games. That’s enough to put UCLA ahead of the defending national champions.

7. Indiana Hoosiers (8-1)

Indiana’s defense allows 12.4 points per game, and its 19-15 loss to Ohio State is one of the best losses in the country. But the offense has stalled for a month. The Hoosiers beat Nebraska by three and Michigan 13-6 in overtime, a win Curt Cignetti called “gritty as hell.” They needed overtime again Saturday against Minnesota after Josh Hoover was benched at halftime for Grant Wilson.

8. Kentucky Wildcats (7-1)

Kentucky beat LSU in overtime and won at Texas A&M, South Carolina and Oklahoma, a road resume few contenders can match. The 45-17 home loss to Alabama is the obvious flaw. Still, Will Stein’s team has stacked more quality SEC wins than any two-loss team below it.

9. Texas Longhorns (6-2)

Texas owns the best collection of wins among two-loss teams: Ohio State in Week 2, Tennessee in Knoxville and Ole Miss. Back-to-back losses to Florida and Oklahoma keep the Longhorns out of the top eight. The head-to-head win over the Buckeyes settles the order between the two.

10. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-2)

Ohio State beat Indiana 19-15 and won 31-14 at Iowa, and both results still count. The Buckeyes lost Julian Sayin to a right-arm injury in Bloomington, and Ryan Day said the staff is “putting together a plan for him not being available for the regular season, and also him not being available for the postseason.” The 30-18 loss at USC with freshman Luke Fahey was the committee’s first look at that version of the team.

11. Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-1)

Texas Tech beat Houston, won 35-24 at Oregon State and handled Arizona on Saturday. The 37-24 loss at Cincinnati is the worst defeat in this tier. However, the Red Raiders have three solid wins and one loss, while Alabama has two losses.

12. Alabama Crimson Tide (6-2)

Alabama’s 45-17 win at Kentucky is the most lopsided result between two top-12 teams, and its other loss came against Georgia. The 26-10 loss at Tennessee is harder to explain. This is the closest call in the projection, and a committee that leans on the Kentucky result could place the Tide several spots higher.

Projecting the rest of the Top 25

• 13. Ole Miss (6-2)
• 14. LSU (6-2)
• 15. Tennessee (6-2)
• 16. Wake Forest (7-1)
• 17. Iowa (6-2)
• 18. Houston (6-2)
• 19. USC (7-2)
• 20. Missouri (6-2)
• 21. Florida (5-3)
• 22. Oregon (5-3)
• 23. Boise State (7-1)
• 24. Arizona (6-2)
• 25. Northwestern (6-2)

Ole Miss leads the next tier on wins over LSU and Missouri, while Tennessee’s 26-10 win over Alabama keeps it in range. USC enters after the Ohio State upset, though losses to Oregon and a 24-7 defeat at Wisconsin keep the Trojans in the bottom half. Florida’s wins over Texas and Ole Miss outweigh three lopsided losses.

What would the playoff bracket look like?

Seeds 1-4 get first-round byes since the 2026 format seeds straight by ranking. Boise State drops to the No. 12 seed as the Group of Six qualifier, which pushes No. 12 Alabama out as the first team out, followed by Ole Miss, LSU and Tennessee.

First round (on campus)

• No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Notre Dame
• No. 11 Texas Tech at No. 6 UCLA
• No. 10 Ohio State at No. 7 Indiana
• No. 9 Texas at No. 8 Kentucky

Quarterfinals

• No. 1 Miami vs. Texas-Kentucky winner
• No. 2 Georgia vs. Ohio State-Indiana winner
• No. 3 Utah vs. Texas Tech-UCLA winner
• No. 4 BYU vs. Boise State-Notre Dame winner