The College Football Playoff selection committee will release its first rankings of the 2026 season on Nov. 3, beginning the weekly process that will determine a 12-team championship field on Dec. 6.
The CFP's published television schedule lists the opening ESPN show for 7-8 p.m. Eastern. The committee will issue six sets of rankings, with subsequent releases Nov. 10, Nov. 17, Nov. 24 and Dec. 1 before Selection Day.
The Nov. 3 list will establish the committee's first top 25. The final rankings and bracket will come during the Dec. 6 selection show, scheduled for noon-3 p.m. Eastern. The opening release therefore gives teams a position in the committee's assessment with a month of games still to affect the final field.
Who gets into the playoff
The 2026-27 format guarantees places to the champions of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC. Another automatic place goes to the highest-ranked team from the American, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-12 and Sun Belt conferences.
The other seven places go to the highest-ranked remaining teams, subject to a separate provision for Notre Dame: the Irish are guaranteed inclusion if they finish in the committee's top 12. If that provision applies, six other teams receive at-large places.
The distinction between selection and seeding matters. The four highest-ranked teams receive first-round byes. Seeds five through eight host first-round games against seeds nine through 12. An automatic qualifier ranked outside the top 12 is placed at the bottom of the bracket's seed order.
What the committee weighs
To distinguish among otherwise comparable teams, the selection protocol directs members to consider strength of schedule, head-to-head results and results against common opponents without encouraging teams to run up victory margins. Player and coach availability may also be considered when it could have affected performance or is likely to affect the postseason.
The committee uses multiple sources of information rather than one prescribed metric. It ranks 25 teams through a series of ballots, and there is no limit on how many teams from one conference can enter the playoff.
For teams outside the automatic routes, their position relative to other at-large contenders will matter throughout November. A place in the first top 12 does not itself award a berth; the final rankings and automatic qualifiers determine the field.
First-round games are scheduled for Dec. 18-19. The quarterfinals follow Dec. 30 and Jan. 1, with semifinals Jan. 14-15. The championship game is scheduled for Jan. 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.