The College Football Playoff will announce its first rankings for the 2026 season on Nov. 3. If nothing else, that should spark debate.

Tennessee is still very much in the playoff picture with a 6-2 record and four games remaining, including two against nationally ranked Kentucky and LSU. But eight other SEC teams also have two or fewer losses.

Neither the SEC nor Big Ten season has gone according to form. Who would have thought Kentucky would be atop the SEC eight weeks into the season? Or that UCLA and Northwestern would still be in contention for the CFP at this stage of the season?

Amid all the uncertainty, you can be sure of this: the Big Ten and SEC will dominate the playoff field. That’s not a new development. It has been that way since the playoffs expanded from four to 12 teams in 2024.

For example, last season, the SEC placed five teams in the playoffs; the Big Ten had three, including eventual national champion Indiana. I expect more of the same this postseason: five SEC teams, three Big Ten teams.

BYU’s upset of Notre Dame increased the Big 12’s chances of putting two teams in the playoffs. But the Cougars lost a week later to UCF.

After the Big 12’s playoff contenders finish beating each other over the last four weeks of the regular season, I expect it to end up with only one playoff berth. And unless an ACC team can pull off an unlikely upset of Miami in the conference championship game, the ACC also will have only one playoff entry.

Since the postseason is stacked so heavily in favor of the SEC and Big Ten, I decided to combine the two power leagues and rank the playoff contenders.

I  believe that one SEC team with three losses will make the playoffs. But for now, I will limit my rankings to teams with two or fewer losses.

To be clear, those rankings won’t include teams outside the Big Ten and SEC. And they’re based on what the teams have done so far, not how I expect them to finish.

1. Ohio State (6-1)

Nobody has a bigger win than the Buckeyes’ victory at Indiana, and their only road loss was by one point at Texas.

They also beat nationally ranked Iowa by 17 points. Their other four wins were by an average of 40 points.

They’re good enough to keep winning even without quarterback Julian Sayin.

2. Georgia (6-1)

The Bulldogs are the SEC’s most balanced team. Their best win was against nationally ranked Alabama; their other five wins were by 28 or more points.

3. Indiana (7-1)

The Hoosiers came ever so close to pulling out the Ohio State game in the last minute, but they narrowly avoided losses to Northwestern and Nebraska.

4. Kentucky (7-1)

The Wildcats have won road games against Texas A&M, South Carolina and Oklahoma. And they beat LSU in Lexington.

5. Texas (5-2)

The Longhorns handed Ohio State its only loss and beat nationally ranked Tennessee and Ole Miss.

6. UCLA (7-0)

The Bruins’ strength of schedule got a boost when Wisconsin knocked off Southern California on Oct. 24, a week after losing to UCLA.

7. Tennessee (6-2)

The Vols’ only losses are by three points apiece to Texas and South Carolina, and they have a dominant victory over nationally ranked Alabama.

8. Alabama (6-2)

It powered past Kentucky in the second half to win by 28 points and lost to Georgia by only three points. But it often looked helpless in a 26-10 loss to Tennessee.

9. Ole Miss (5-2)

The Rebels have impressive wins over LSU and Missouri – plus, they played Texas close in Austin. But they lost to Florida by 28 points.

10. LSU (6-2)

The Tigers lost to Ole Miss, and to Kentucky in overtime. But their six wins are by an average of 33.7 points.

11. Missouri (5-2)

The Tigers have a lopsided win over Florida but a bad loss to Ole Miss.

12. Florida (5-2)

The Gators have upset wins against Ole Miss and Texas. But they suffered one-sided losses to South Carolina and Missouri.

13. Northwestern (6-1)

The Wildcats’ schedule has been ridiculously easy, but they played Indiana close and looked good doing it.

14. Wisconsin (5-2)

The Badgers had generated little attention until they defeated Southern California. Another upset (Oct. 31 against Iowa) could make them a serious playoff contender.

15. Southern California (6-2)

The Trojans are underachieving again, and I’m starting to wonder how serious Lincoln Riley is about his coaching career. Maybe, he’s the next Jimbo Fisher.

16. Minnesota (5-2)

The Gophers are headed for the toughest part of their schedule. They will play Indiana, UCLA, Northwestern and Wisconsin in their last five games.

17. Nebraska (5-2)

The Cornhuskers have lost back-to-back games by three points apiece after a 5-0 start. But their only two Power 4 wins have been against Michigan State and Maryland, who have a combined record of 4-11 and are winless in the Big Ten.

18. Iowa (5-2)

The Hawkeyes have lost two of their last three games but could become a strong playoff candidate if they can win the next two games against Wisconsin and Northwestern.