College Football Playoff 2026 Rankings Released Ahead of Week 10

The first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2026 season were revealed on Tuesday as the homestretch of the campaign begins over the weekend.

1. Miami (8-0)
2. Georgia (7-1)
3. Utah (8-0)
4. Indiana (8-1)
5. Alabama (6-2)
6. Kentucky (7-1)
7. Texas (6-2)
8. UCLA (8-0)
9. BYU (7-1)
10. Ole Miss (6-2)
11. Notre Dame (7-1)
12. Ohio State (6-2)
13. Tennessee (6-2)
14. LSU (6-2)
15. Texas Tech (7-1)
16. Wake Forest (7-1)
17. Houston (6-2)
18. Missouri (6-2)
19. Iowa (6-2)
20. USC (7-2)
21. South Carolina (5-3)
22. Arizona (6-2)
23. Oregon (5-3)
24. Florida (5-3)
25. Boise State (7-1)

Miami's spot at the top of the rankings shouldn't come as much of a surprise. The Hurricanes, who are also No. 1 in the AP Poll, are undefeated heading into their matchup against Notre Dame, a game that should shake up next week's rankings.

Miami has had a few close calls, like a one-score win over Florida State and a three-point win over North Carolina last week, but last year's national championship game runner-up has otherwise been dominant.

Clearly, Georgia's upset loss to Auburn didn't scare off the selection committee too much, and that's likely because of the Bulldogs' strong wins over Alabama and Florida.

Kirby Smart's squad has a gauntlet on deck, as it will face ranked opponents in its next three games.

While Utah has just one ranked win, the Utes are undefeated through eight games and have impressed the committee enough to establish themselves among the top teams. They'll face BYU on Saturday in a game that will carry plenty of CFP implications.

Alabama at No. 5 is certainly a bit of a head-scratcher, considering the Crimson Tide suffered a blowout loss to Tennessee, which is ranked eight spots below them. Alabama's win over Georgia seemingly holds a lot of weight.

Texas already has two losses on its schedule, but the Longhorns also have three of the most impressive wins of anyone in the country against Ohio State, Tennessee and Ole Miss.

UCLA is perhaps one of the most surprising teams in college football this year. Many expected a rebuilding year in Bob Chesney's first season, but the Bruins are undefeated after eight games.

Still, UCLA's most impressive win is over an Oregon team that has since fallen off quite a bit, so the Bruins perhaps still have something to prove.

Notre Dame's ranking of No. 11 perhaps comes as a bit of a surprise, considering the Fighting Irish's only loss came to a top-10 team, but the committee clearly wants to see more from them this year.

Notre Dame will have a big opportunity against Miami this Saturday.

Some of the biggest teams to watch in the coming weeks will be the fringe SEC teams with two losses, like LSU, Tennessee and Missouri. Those squads all have some solid wins by virtue of playing in the SEC, but none can afford to drop another game.

Tuesday's rankings give an idea of how the CFP could shape up, but there are still four weeks left in the regular season, plus conference championships, so anything can happen.