Miami Leads First CFP Rankings as Boise State Enters Field

The College Football Playoff committee’s opening 2026 rankings put Miami at No. 1 and placed Boise State in the projected 12-team field, while No. 12 Ohio State was left out under the bracket’s automatic-bid structure. The rankings released Tuesday, November 3, list Georgia second, Utah third, Indiana fourth and Alabama fifth. Miami, Georgia, Utah and Indiana would receive first-round byes in the committee’s initial bracket projection. The rankings and bracket are provisional, with further committee rankings scheduled before the final selection. Boise State is No. 25 in the 25-team rankings but would enter the bracket as the No. 12 seed as the highest-ranked team from the designated Group of Six conferences. Under the reported format, the four highest-ranked teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC, along with the highest-ranked Group of Six team, receive automatic places; seven other teams qualify as at-large selections. The projection pairs Boise State with No. 5 Alabama in the first round. Ohio State is ranked No. 12 but falls outside the projected field because Boise State occupies that guaranteed Group of Six place. The Buckeyes and Alabama both have 6-2 records. The...