This is the 24-team College Football Playoff bracket at FOX Sports, and I am the selection committee chairman. 

Now, it's all for a hypothetical playoff field as the postseason format barrels toward expansion from its current 12 teams. But I have a clear picture and strong understanding of just who I think is good, who would make the CFP if the season ended today and who I think are the best teams in the sport. I have seeded teams based entirely on my weekly top-25 rankings.

As part of this 24-team College Football Playoff format, I’m looking at the seeding, potential matchups and the state of play for a few teams. 

These teams, only three of which are undefeated, are playing every week for the opportunity to stay here, while dozens of other teams not listed are also still playing for the privilege of participating in the postseason tournament to crown the national champion. It’s one more way of saying, yes, every single game matters in this sport.

Under this format, my selection criteria are really quite simple:

• The four Power Four conference champions and the highest-ranked Group of Six team are automatic qualifiers
• The rest of the field is filled with 19 at-large bids for the remaining highest-ranked teams, in this case, in my weekly top-25 rankings.

 

Let's get into it. Here's what a 24-team College Football Playoff field would look like if the 2026 season ended after Week 9. 

24-TEAM COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF FIELD IN 2026

 

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS: POWER FOUR CHAMPS, HIGHEST-RANKED GROUP OF SIX TEAM

 

1. Miami, ACC champion
2. Georgia, SEC champion
3. Indiana, Big Ten champion
4. Utah, Big 12 champion
20. Boise State, highest-ranked Group of Six team

The Miami Hurricanes are doing everything they can to remove doubt from my mind and fill it with certainty that they are not only the best team in the sport but also capable of winning the national title in two-and-a-half months. 

Given Miami's schedule, that’s been a difficult ask until this weekend. Discerning fans will notice what I have about Miami's schedule too, though. Chiefly, Miami's double-digit road win at Wake Forest has become a ranked win. That matters.

On Saturday, the Canes (finally) play a top 5-ranked opponent on the road in Notre Dame, and that game will act as a referendum on just how good Mario Cristobal’s squad is this year as opposed to last. However, last year, Miami was one of the last teams to make it into the CFP — at Notre Dame’s expense — and proved to be the second-best team in the sport. 

This 2026 Miami team has played better and might actually be better than the 2025 team. I’m eager to see how the Canes carry that No. 1 ranking against the first team with the skill to defeat them.

 

CFP AT-LARGE BIDS: FIRST-ROUND BYES

 

5. Notre Dame
6. UCLA
7. Kentucky
8. Alabama

Notre Dame must win on Saturday to stay seeded in what is a much-coveted spot in the hypothetical 24-team CFP. Teams ranked No. 5 to No. 8 don’t just get a bye; they also get home-field advantage against a lower seed.

The Fighting Irish already know they can reach the national championship game with a home-field advantage to start the postseason invitational. In the 24-team format, they also get an extended chance to get healthy, better prepare for their opponent and perhaps go on a run to win the national title that has eluded Notre Dame’s grasp for four decades.

With a loss to No. 1 Miami this weekend, Notre Dame would not be out of the CFP, but it might get dropped in seeding, giving up that bye week at-best and having to play away from home for the entire postseason. This is a shiny example of every game mattering in the regular season.

CFP AT-LARGE BIDS: FIRST-ROUND HOME GAMES

 

9. Texas
10. Ole Miss
11. USC
12. Ohio State
13. Texas Tech
14. Tennessee
15. BYU
16. Houston

How the mighty have fallen, Ohio State? After a disastrous loss to USC in Week 9 Saturday night, Ohio State has already lost the privilege of a CFP bye.

Buckeyes fans are right to question coach Ryan Day and his staff. The loss to the Trojans had little to do with a freshman quarterback, Luke Fahey, making his first start on the road. No, Ohio State's loss had more to do with clock management, being utterly incapable of scoring touchdowns in the red zone in the first half and mistakes made by coordinator Matt Patricia's defense, allowing for explosive plays which proved to be the difference-maker. With another loss this season, the Buckeyes might become a long shot to make the 12-team CFP.

Only two three-loss teams have made the tournament in the past: Alabama last season and 2024 ACC champion Clemson.

A three-loss Ohio State team in a hypothetical 24-team CFP might find it has to begin its postseason journey on the road, as opposed to watching the whole thing unfold from its living room couch.

CFP AT-LARGE BIDS: FIRST-ROUND ROAD GAMES

 

17. Missouri
18. LSU
19. Iowa
20. Boise State (automatic qualifier)
21. Wake Forest
22. Florida
23. UTSA
24. New Mexico

Yes, LSU. You’re still here.

Down here.

Slumming.

That’s what happens when you lose to Ole Miss and Kentucky before Week 10. Fortunately for you, fighting Tigers, you have a chance to play yourself up the top-25 rankings and up in the ladder of the CFP seeding with a win against Alabama on Saturday. In fact, a win for LSU might necessitate a flip between the Tigers and the Crimson Tide.

I still think LSU is one of the most talented teams in the sport, and the Tigers are great fun to watch when they’re healthy. The prospect of watching LSU win its fourth national title in 24 years — because it certainly won't win one if it is still ranked No. 18 at the end of 2026 season — would not shock me, even in a 24-team CFP with one of the toughest roads to the national title the sport might ever see. 

Leave it to Lane Kiffin and LSU to make normal toeing the line between illustrious and notorious — on and off a football field.