Ole Miss at Texas A&M? Texas Tech at Indiana? The CFP bracket based on the preseason AP Top 25

ERIC OLSON, AP College Football Writer

Aug 17, 2026


Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia and Notre Dame would be the top four seeds in the College Football Playoff based on the preseason AP Top 25 poll with Texas, Indiana, Miami and Texas A&M hosting first-round games.

The five highest-ranked conference champions — from the Power Four and one from the Group of Six — will qualify for the CFP. The other seven spots will be filled by the next highest-ranked teams. One of those at-large teams will be Notre Dame if the Irish are among the top 12 in the CFP's final rankings.

The first poll-based bracket includes five teams from the Southeastern Conference, three from the Big Ten, one from Atlantic Coast Conference, one from the Big 12, one from the Pac-12 and one independent.

Teams seeded Nos. 5-12 by the CFP will play in the first round, with the higher seeds hosting the lower either on campus or at other sites designated by the higher-seeded school.

With the removal of historic tie-ins from the bowl assignment process beginning this season, the CFP Management Committee approved a format in which the top three seeds, in rank order, select their bowl path in the playoff.

First-round games are Dec. 18 and 19, quarterfinals Dec. 30 and Jan. 1, semifinals Jan. 14 and 15 and the championship game is Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

Based on the AP rankings, the CFP would open like this:

— No. 9 seed Mississippi at No. 8 Texas A&M. Winner vs. No. 1 Ohio State.

— No. 12 seed Boise State at No. 5 Texas. Winner vs. No. 4 Notre Dame.

— No. 10 seed Oklahoma at No. 7 seed Miami. Winner vs. No. 2 Oregon.

— No. 11 seed Texas Tech at No. 6 Indiana. Winner vs. No. 3 Georgia.

The first three teams outside the bracket: LSU, Alabama and BYU.

The Tigers are ranked No. 11 by the AP but would get bumped by Texas Tech and Boise State. Texas Tech, at No. 12 in the AP poll, is the highest-ranked Big 12 team. Boise State of the revamped Pac-12 would be the automatically qualifying Group of Six champion. Boise State is not in the AP Top 25 but is the Group of Six team that received the most votes.

The AP will publish brackets based on the weekly Top 25 until the CFP selection committee unveils its initial rankings Nov. 3.

___

Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here

More CFB News

CFB 2026 Leaders

CFB 2026 Rankings

CFB 2026 Standings

SoutheasternWLPCT
1
2
0
1.000
2
2
0
1.000
3
2
0
1.000
4
2
0
1.000
5
2
0
1.000
6
2
0
1.000
7
2
0
1.000
8
2
0
1.000
9
2
0
1.000
10
2
0
1.000
11
2
0
1.000
12
2
0
1.000
13
2
0
1.000
14
1
1
.500
15
1
1
.500
16
1
1
.500
Sun BeltWLPCT
1
2
0
1.000
2
2
0
1.000
3
2
0
1.000
4
2
0
1.000
5
1
1
.500
6
1
1
.500
7
1
1
.500
8
1
1
.500
9
1
1
.500
10
1
1
.500
11
1
1
.500
12
1
1
.500
13
1
1
.500
14
0
2
.000
Big 12WLPCT
1
2
0
1.000
2
2
0
1.000
3
2
0
1.000
4
2
0
1.000
5
2
0
1.000
6
2
0
1.000
7
2
0
1.000
8
2
0
1.000
9
1
1
.500
10
1
1
.500
11
1
1
.500
12
1
1
.500
13
1
1
.500
14
1
1
.500
15
1
1
.500
16
1
1
.500
Pac-12WLPCT
1
2
0
1.000
2
1
1
.500
3
1
1
.500
4
1
1
.500
5
0
2
.000
6
0
2
.000
7
0
2
.000
8
0
2
.000
Mid-AmericanWLPCT
1
1
2
.333
2
2
0
1.000
3
1
1
.500
4
1
1
.500
5
1
1
.500
6
1
1
.500
7
1
1
.500
8
1
1
.500
9
1
1
.500
10
1
1
.500
11
1
1
.500
12
0
2
.000
13
1
2
.333
Atlantic CoastWLPCT
1
2
0
1.000
2
2
0
1.000
3
2
0
1.000
4
1
1
.500
5
2
0
1.000
6
2
0
1.000
7
2
0
1.000
8
2
0
1.000
9
2
0
1.000
10
1
1
.500
11
1
1
.500
12
1
1
.500
13
0
2
.000
14
1
1
.500
15
1
1
.500
16
1
1
.500
17
1
1
.500
IndependentWLPCT
1
2
0
1.000
2
1
1
.500
American AthleticWLPCT
1
2
0
1.000
2
1
1
.500
3
2
0
1.000
4
2
0
1.000
5
2
1
.667
6
1
1
.500
7
1
1
.500
8
1
1
.500
9
1
1
.500
10
1
1
.500
11
0
2
.000
12
0
2
.000
13
1
1
.500
14
1
1
.500
Big 10WLPCT
1
3
0
1.000
2
2
0
1.000
3
2
0
1.000
4
2
0
1.000
5
2
0
1.000
6
2
0
1.000
7
2
0
1.000
8
2
0
1.000
9
2
0
1.000
10
2
0
1.000
11
1
0
1.000
12
1
1
.500
13
1
1
.500
14
1
1
.500
15
1
1
.500
16
1
1
.500
17
1
1
.500
18
0
2
.000
Conference USAWLPCT
1
1
1
.500
2
1
1
.500
3
1
1
.500
4
1
1
.500
5
1
1
.500
6
1
1
.500
7
1
2
.333
8
1
2
.333
9
0
2
.000
10
0
2
.000
Mountain WestWLPCT
1
3
0
1.000
2
1
2
.333
3
2
0
1.000
4
2
1
.667
5
1
1
.500
6
1
1
.500
7
1
1
.500
8
0
2
.000
9
1
1
.500
10
1
2
.333

CFB 2026 Scores & Schedule

Scores

DATEMATCHUPSCORE
Sat
8/29
@
15-10
Sat
8/29
@
26-42
Sat
8/29
@
8-34
Sat
8/29
@
7-33
Sat
8/29
@
17-28

Schedule

DATEMATCHUPTIME (ET)
Thu
9/17
@
7:30 PM
Fri
9/18
@
7:30 PM
Fri
9/18
@
8:00 PM
Fri
9/18
PRST PRST
@
10:30 PM
Sat
9/19
@
11:30 AM