THE PLAYOFF PICTURE
College Football Playoff Bracket 2026–27
BRACKET FRAMEWORK · NO TEAMS YETNumbers are bracket seeds, not rankings or odds. Teams are placed only when the committee announces the bracket on Selection Day, Dec 6. See the CFP Top 25 →
FIRST ROUNDDec 18–19 · Campus sites · higher seed hosts
QUARTERFINALSDec 30 – Jan 1 · Cotton, Fiesta, Peach & Rose Bowls
SEMIFINALSJan 14–15 · Orange & Sugar Bowls
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPJan 25, 2027 · Allegiant Stadium · Las Vegas
Seed 8Seed 8 · TBD
Seed 9Seed 9 · TBD
Seed 1Seed 1 · TBDBYE
Winner 8/9
Seed 5Seed 5 · TBD
Seed 12Seed 12 · TBD
Seed 4Seed 4 · TBDBYE
Winner 5/12
Seed 7Seed 7 · TBD
Seed 10Seed 10 · TBD
Seed 2Seed 2 · TBDBYE
Winner 7/10
Seed 6Seed 6 · TBD
Seed 11Seed 11 · TBD
Seed 3Seed 3 · TBDBYE
Winner 6/11
Winner 1/8/9
Winner 4/5/12
Winner 2/7/10
Winner 3/6/11
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPAllegiant Stadium · Las Vegas
January 25, 2027
January 25, 2027
Winner 1/4/5/8/9/12
Winner 2/3/6/7/10/11
Campus sites · higher seed hosts
First-round byes. Seeds 1–4 go straight to the quarterfinals.
Seed 8Seed 8 · TBD
Seed 9Seed 9 · TBD
Winner → Quarterfinals vs. Seed 1 (bye)
Seed 5Seed 5 · TBD
Seed 12Seed 12 · TBD
Winner → Quarterfinals vs. Seed 4 (bye)
Seed 7Seed 7 · TBD
Seed 10Seed 10 · TBD
Winner → Quarterfinals vs. Seed 2 (bye)
Seed 6Seed 6 · TBD
Seed 11Seed 11 · TBD
Winner → Quarterfinals vs. Seed 3 (bye)
Cotton, Fiesta, Peach & Rose Bowls
Seed 1Seed 1 · TBDBYE
Winner 8/9
Winner → Semifinals vs. winner 4/5/12
Seed 4Seed 4 · TBDBYE
Winner 5/12
Winner → Semifinals vs. winner 1/8/9
Seed 2Seed 2 · TBDBYE
Winner 7/10
Winner → Semifinals vs. winner 3/6/11
Seed 3Seed 3 · TBDBYE
Winner 6/11
Winner → Semifinals vs. winner 2/7/10
Orange & Sugar Bowls
Winner 1/8/9
Winner 4/5/12
Winner → National Championship vs. winner 2/3/6/7/10/11
Winner 2/7/10
Winner 3/6/11
Winner → National Championship vs. winner 1/4/5/8/9/12
Allegiant Stadium · Las Vegas
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPAllegiant Stadium · Las Vegas
January 25, 2027
January 25, 2027
Winner 1/4/5/8/9/12
Winner 2/3/6/7/10/11
HOW ADVANCEMENT WORKS
- Seeds 1–4 skip the first round.
- Seeds 5–8 host seeds 12, 11, 10 and 9 on campus.
- Quarterfinals: 1 plays the 8/9 winner, 2 plays 7/10, 3 plays 6/11, 4 plays 5/12.
- Semifinals: the 1 and 4 paths meet; the 2 and 3 paths meet.
- The bracket is fixed. There is no reseeding after any round.
HOW SEEDS ARE SET
- The four highest-ranked teams are seeds 1–4. The rest are seeded by final ranking.
- Automatic qualifiers ranked outside the top 12 are seeded at the bottom of the field, in rank order.
- A seed is a bracket position. It can differ from a team's CFP ranking.
- Seed 1 picks its quarterfinal bowl and semifinal path, then seeds 2 and 3. Seed 4 gets the remaining bowl, so bowls are shown only after Selection Day.
KEEP FOLLOWING
Official CFP Top 25 →The Playoff Picture →All teams →Source: CFP Selection Committee Protocol. No probabilities or projections are shown.