College football championship projection: playoff and FCS brackets, bowls, eligibility

FBS: the 12-team playoff bracket

Seeded straight from the RankSlate rating, with the five highest-rated projected conference champions in the field, matching the playoff's published format.

The rating measures how good a team is, not how many games it will win. A team with an easier schedule can be headed for a better record and still seed below a stronger team, and a better team can still be an underdog on the road.

First round · campus sites · Dec 18 and Dec 19

9Kentucky at 8UtahRice-Eccles Stadium, Salt Lake City, UT

10BYU at 7LSUTiger Stadium (LA), Baton Rouge, LA

11Texas at 6AlabamaBryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, AL

12Boise State at 5GeorgiaSanford Stadium, Athens, GA

Byes: 1Miami, 2Ohio State, 3Notre Dame, 4Indiana

Quarterfinals

1Miami vs the 8/9 winnerFiesta Bowl, State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ, Dec 30

4Indiana vs the 5/12 winnerCotton Bowl Classic, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX, Jan 1

3Notre Dame vs the 6/11 winnerPeach Bowl, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA, Jan 1

2Ohio State vs the 7/10 winnerRose Bowl Game, Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA, Jan 1

Semifinals

Quarterfinal winnersOrange Bowl, Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL, Jan 14

Quarterfinal winnersSugar Bowl, Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA, Jan 15

Championship

Semifinal winnersAllegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, NV, January 25, 2027

The field stays at 12 for 2026: the five highest-rated conference champions plus seven at-large teams, seeded straight by ranking with byes to the top four seeds. First-round games are Dec 18 and 19 at the higher seed's campus. Which quarterfinal lands in which bowl follows the bracket released on selection day, Dec 6, so the bowl assignments shown are placeholders.

FCS: the 24-team championship bracket

First round · seeds 9-16 host · Nov 28

Central Connecticut at 9North Dakotawinner visits 8Tennessee Tech

Southeast Missouri State at 10Northern Arizonawinner visits 7Tarleton State

St. Thomas at 11Illinois Statewinner visits 6Harvard

Idaho State at 12Austin Peaywinner visits 5South Dakota

UC Davis at 13Lehighwinner visits 4Montana State

East Tennessee State at 14Montanawinner visits 3Youngstown State

Monmouth at 15Campbellwinner visits 2Stephen F. Austin

Mercer at 16Lamarwinner visits 1South Dakota State

Second round · Dec 5

1South Dakota State hosts a first-round winnercampus

2Stephen F. Austin hosts a first-round winnercampus

3Youngstown State hosts a first-round winnercampus

4Montana State hosts a first-round winnercampus

5South Dakota hosts a first-round winnercampus

6Harvard hosts a first-round winnercampus

7Tarleton State hosts a first-round winnercampus

8Tennessee Tech hosts a first-round winnercampus

Quarterfinals Dec 11-12 · Semifinals Dec 19 · campus sites

Championship: FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, TN, January 11, 2027

Twenty-four teams: eleven conference champions qualify automatically and thirteen at-large spots fill the field. The MEAC and SWAC champions skip the playoff to meet in the Celebration Bowl. Sixteen teams are seeded: the top eight get first-round byes and seeds 9 through 16 host the first round. The committee pairs first-round games regionally to limit travel (bus trips over flights), so actual pairings will differ from this strict projection. Campus sites through the semifinals; the final is at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville on Jan 11, 2027, while the longtime Frisco site is renovated.

The rankings behind the seeds

The FBS field takes 12 and the FCS field 24, but neither is a straight slice of these lists: conference champions qualify even from below the line, and in the FCS the MEAC and SWAC champions leave for the Celebration Bowl. The extra teams here are the bubble.

FBS top 20

Rank	Team	Conference	Record
1	Miami	ACC	7-0
2	Ohio State	Big Ten	6-1
3	Notre Dame	FBS Indep.	6-1
4	Indiana	Big Ten	7-1
5	Georgia	SEC	6-1
6	Alabama	SEC	6-2
7	LSU	SEC	6-2
8	Utah	Big 12	7-0
9	Kentucky	SEC	7-1
10	BYU	Big 12	6-1
11	Texas	SEC	5-2
12	Ole Miss	SEC	5-2
13	UCLA	Big Ten	7-0
14	Houston	Big 12	6-2
15	Northwestern	Big Ten	6-1
16	Tennessee	SEC	6-2
17	Arizona	Big 12	6-1
18	Boise State	Pac-12	6-1
19	Texas Tech	Big 12	6-1
20	Wake Forest	ACC	6-1

The full FBS ranking lives on rankslate.net.

FCS top 30

Rank	Team	Conference	Record
1	South Dakota State	MVFC	6-2
2	Stephen F. Austin	Southland	8-0
3	Youngstown State	MVFC	6-2
4	Montana State	Big Sky	7-1
5	South Dakota	MVFC	7-2
6	Harvard	Ivy	6-0
7	Tarleton State	UAC	8-0
8	Tennessee Tech	Southern	7-1
9	North Dakota	MVFC	6-3
10	Northern Arizona	Big Sky	6-2
11	Illinois State	MVFC	6-2
12	Austin Peay	UAC	7-2
13	Lehigh	Patriot	6-2
14	Montana	Big Sky	5-3
15	Campbell	CAA	7-1
16	Lamar	Southland	6-2
17	Mercer	Southern	6-2
18	Monmouth	CAA	6-2
19	East Tennessee State	Southern	6-2
20	UC Davis	Big Sky	5-3
21	Idaho State	Big Sky	5-3
22	Abilene Christian	UAC	4-4
23	Chattanooga	Southern	5-3
24	Northern Iowa	MVFC	3-4
25	Weber State	Big Sky	5-4
26	Incarnate Word	Southland	4-4
27	Cornell	Ivy	3-3
28	Princeton	Ivy	4-2
29	St. Thomas	Pioneer	6-2
30	UAlbany	CAA	5-3

The full FCS ranking lives on rankslate.net.

Bowl schedule

The full 2026-27 slate: 35 bowls plus the six playoff bowls. The new tie-in cycle was delayed, so bowls carried over their previous conference affiliations for 2026; multi-conference entries are selection pools, not guaranteed matchups. The Holiday Bowl returns in early January 2027 with its exact date still unannounced. Sponsor names are dropped where the game has a standalone name.

Date	Bowl	Stadium	City	Matchup
Sat, Dec 12	Celebration Bowl	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	Atlanta, GA	SWAC champion vs MEAC champion
Tue, Dec 15	Salute to Veterans Bowl	Cramton Bowl	Montgomery, AL	Sun Belt vs MAC
Tue, Dec 15	Frisco Football Classic	The Star	Frisco, TX	Group of Five at-large
Fri, Dec 18	Boca Raton Bowl	Flagler Credit Union Stadium	Boca Raton, FL	American / CUSA / MAC / Sun Belt pool
Fri, Dec 18	Gasparilla Bowl	Raymond James Stadium	Tampa, FL	American vs ACC or SEC
Mon, Dec 21	Myrtle Beach Bowl	Brooks Stadium	Conway, SC	American / MAC / Sun Belt pool
Mon, Dec 21	Famous Idaho Potato Bowl	Albertsons Stadium	Boise, ID	MAC vs Mountain West
Tue, Dec 22	Puerto Rico Bowl	Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium	Bayamon, PR	MAC tie-in; new for 2026
Tue, Dec 22	Cure Bowl	Acrisure Bounce House	Orlando, FL	Group of Five pool
Tue, Dec 22	Independence Bowl	Independence Stadium	Shreveport, LA	Big 12 vs Pac-12
Wed, Dec 23	New Orleans Bowl	Caesars Superdome	New Orleans, LA	Sun Belt vs CUSA
Wed, Dec 23	Armed Forces Bowl	Amon G. Carter Stadium	Fort Worth, TX	American vs CUSA
Wed, Dec 23	Frisco Bowl	The Star	Frisco, TX	Group of Five pool
Thu, Dec 24	New Mexico Bowl	University Stadium	Albuquerque, NM	Mountain West vs Group of Five pool
Thu, Dec 24	Hawai'i Bowl	Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex	Honolulu, HI	Mountain West vs CUSA
Sat, Dec 26	Pinstripe Bowl	Yankee Stadium	Bronx, NY	ACC vs Big Ten
Sat, Dec 26	Fenway Bowl	Fenway Park	Boston, MA	ACC vs American
Sat, Dec 26	Duke's Mayo Bowl	Bank of America Stadium	Charlotte, NC	ACC vs SEC
Sat, Dec 26	68 Ventures Bowl	Hancock Whitney Stadium	Mobile, AL	CUSA / MAC / Sun Belt pool
Sat, Dec 26	Cactus Bowl	Mountain America Stadium	Tempe, AZ	Big 12 vs Big Ten
Sun, Dec 27	Arizona Bowl	Arizona Stadium	Tucson, AZ	Mountain West vs MAC
Mon, Dec 28	Military Bowl	Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium	Annapolis, MD	ACC vs American
Tue, Dec 29	Birmingham Bowl	Protective Stadium	Birmingham, AL	SEC or ACC vs American
Tue, Dec 29	Pop-Tarts Bowl	Camping World Stadium	Orlando, FL	ACC vs Big 12
Tue, Dec 29	Alamo Bowl	Alamodome	San Antonio, TX	Big 12 vs Pac-12
Wed, Dec 30	Gator Bowl	EverBank Stadium	Jacksonville, FL	ACC vs SEC
Wed, Dec 30	Music City Bowl	Nissan Stadium	Nashville, TN	SEC vs Big Ten
Wed, Dec 30	Fiesta Bowl playoff	State Farm Stadium	Glendale, AZ	Playoff quarterfinal
Thu, Dec 31	ReliaQuest Bowl	Raymond James Stadium	Tampa, FL	SEC vs Big Ten
Thu, Dec 31	Sun Bowl	Sun Bowl Stadium	El Paso, TX	ACC vs Pac-12
Thu, Dec 31	Las Vegas Bowl	Allegiant Stadium	Las Vegas, NV	Big Ten vs Pac-12
Thu, Dec 31	Texas Bowl	NRG Stadium	Houston, TX	Big 12 vs SEC
Fri, Jan 1	Cotton Bowl Classic playoff	AT&T Stadium	Arlington, TX	Playoff quarterfinal
Fri, Jan 1	Peach Bowl playoff	Mercedes-Benz Stadium	Atlanta, GA	Playoff quarterfinal
Fri, Jan 1	Rose Bowl Game playoff	Rose Bowl	Pasadena, CA	Playoff quarterfinal
Sat, Jan 2	Citrus Bowl	Camping World Stadium	Orlando, FL	Big Ten vs SEC
Sat, Jan 2	First Responder Bowl	Gerald J. Ford Stadium	Dallas, TX	American / ACC / Big 12 pool
Sat, Jan 2	Liberty Bowl	Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium	Memphis, TN	Big 12 vs SEC
date TBD	Holiday Bowl	Snapdragon Stadium	San Diego, CA	ACC vs Pac-12; early January, date not yet announced
Thu, Jan 14	Orange Bowl playoff	Hard Rock Stadium	Miami Gardens, FL	Playoff semifinal
Fri, Jan 15	Sugar Bowl playoff	Caesars Superdome	New Orleans, LA	Playoff semifinal

Bowl eligibility tracker

A team needs 6 wins against FBS opponents to become bowl eligible; one win over an FCS team can count. 31 of 138 FBS teams are eligible so far.

Team	Conference	Record	Countable wins
Indiana	Big Ten	7-1	7 of 6 · eligible
James Madison	Sun Belt	7-2	7 of 6 · eligible
Kentucky	SEC	7-1	7 of 6 · eligible
Miami	ACC	7-0	7 of 6 · eligible
UCLA	Big Ten	7-0	7 of 6 · eligible
Utah	Big 12	7-0	7 of 6 · eligible
UTSA	American	7-1	7 of 6 · eligible
Alabama	SEC	6-2	6 of 6 · eligible
Arizona	Big 12	6-1	6 of 6 · eligible
Boise State	Pac-12	6-1	6 of 6 · eligible
BYU	Big 12	6-1	6 of 6 · eligible
Georgia	SEC	6-1	6 of 6 · eligible
Houston	Big 12	6-2	6 of 6 · eligible
Jacksonville State	CUSA	6-2	6 of 6 · eligible
Liberty	CUSA	6-1	6 of 6 · eligible
LSU	SEC	6-2	6 of 6 · eligible
Memphis	American	6-2	6 of 6 · eligible
New Mexico	Mountain West	6-1	6 of 6 · eligible
North Dakota State	Mountain West	6-2	6 of 6 · eligible
North Texas	American	6-2	6 of 6 · eligible
Northwestern	Big Ten	6-1	6 of 6 · eligible
Notre Dame	FBS Indep.	6-1	6 of 6 · eligible
Ohio	MAC	6-2	6 of 6 · eligible
Ohio State	Big Ten	6-1	6 of 6 · eligible
SMU	ACC	6-1	6 of 6 · eligible
Tennessee	SEC	6-2	6 of 6 · eligible
Texas Tech	Big 12	6-1	6 of 6 · eligible
Toledo	MAC	6-2	6 of 6 · eligible
USC	Big Ten	6-2	6 of 6 · eligible
Virginia Tech	ACC	6-2	6 of 6 · eligible
Wake Forest	ACC	6-1	6 of 6 · eligible

Both brackets, built by the rules