The 2026-27 College Football Playoff bracket is announced on Selection Day, Sunday, Dec. 6, at noon ET on ESPN: 12 teams, the four highest ranked overall on byes, and eight teams in four first round games on campus Dec. 18 and 19. This page holds the bracket with every seed and matchup, updates through each round with scores, and until Selection Day shows the structure with the current bracket picture from the latest rankings.
2026-27 CFP Bracket
| Seed | Team | Status | First round |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TBD | Bye | Quarterfinal vs. winner of 8 vs. 9 |
| 2 | TBD | Bye | Quarterfinal vs. winner of 7 vs. 10 |
| 3 | TBD | Bye | Quarterfinal vs. winner of 6 vs. 11 |
| 4 | TBD | Bye | Quarterfinal vs. winner of 5 vs. 12 |
| 5 | TBD | Hosts first round | vs. No. 12, Dec. 18 or 19 |
| 6 | TBD | Hosts first round | vs. No. 11, Dec. 18 or 19 |
| 7 | TBD | Hosts first round | vs. No. 10, Dec. 18 or 19 |
| 8 | TBD | Hosts first round | vs. No. 9, Dec. 18 or 19 |
| 9 | TBD | Road first round | at No. 8 |
| 10 | TBD | Road first round | at No. 7 |
| 11 | TBD | Road first round | at No. 6 |
| 12 | TBD | Road first round | at No. 5 |
Seeds and teams fill in on Dec. 6. First round winners take the seed line of the team they beat into the quarterfinals, so the winner of 12 at 5 meets the No. 4 seed, and so on.
Path to the Championship
| Round | Date | Games |
|---|---|---|
| First round | Dec. 18 and 19 | 12 at 5, 11 at 6, 10 at 7, 9 at 8 on campus |
| Quarterfinals | Dec. 30 and Jan. 1 | Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 30), Cotton, Peach and Rose Bowls (Jan. 1) |
| Semifinals | Jan. 14 and 15 | Orange Bowl (Jan. 14), Sugar Bowl (Jan. 15) |
| Championship | Jan. 25 | Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas |
How Teams Get In
| Automatic bids | The five highest ranked conference champions in the final CFP rankings |
| At large bids | The next seven highest ranked teams, no conference limit |
| Byes | Seeds 1 to 4 go to the four highest ranked teams overall; a conference champion ranked outside the top four does not get a bye |
| Hosting | Seeds 5 through 8 host first round games at their home stadiums; everything after that is at neutral bowl sites |
Before Selection Day, the CFP rankings page shows who would be in the field each week, and the CFP schedule has every date, site, kickoff and network.
Related
CFP rankings · CFP schedule · CFP odds · How the CFP works · Byes and auto bids · AP Top 25 · College football TV schedule