Miami Takes No. 1 in First 2026 College Football Playoff Rankings, Ahead of Georgia

The College Football Playoff selection committee ranked undefeated Miami No. 1 in its first rankings of the 2026 season, released Tuesday night. Georgia is second, followed by Utah, Indiana and Alabama. Kentucky, Texas, UCLA, BYU, Ole Miss, Notre Dame and Ohio State fill spots six through 12, with UCLA at No. 8 and Notre Dame at No. 11. Under the 12-team format, five conference champions are guaranteed spots, so if the season ended now No. 25 Boise State, a Group of 6 team, would take the No. 12 seed over Ohio State. Miami, Georgia, Utah and Indiana would receive first-round byes. The first-round games would be Notre Dame at Kentucky, BYU at UCLA, Ole Miss at Texas and Boise State at Alabama. Miami, which has Heisman contenders in quarterback Darian Mensah and receiver Malachi Toney, faces Notre Dame next. Alabama has two losses, including one to Tennessee.

The New York Times, the only left-leaning outlet here, leads with Miami on top and names Alabama and Notre Dame as surprises. Its excerpt is a preview built around the outlet's own model and the 7 p.m. ET release time, and it includes no fan or coach reaction. On the right, Fox News runs an angry column calling Alabama's placement absurd. It asks how a two-loss Alabama team sits above two-loss Tennessee, which beat it, and says another team was treated badly. The Daily Caller reports the rankings straight, contrasting Miami's No. 1 start with last year and laying out the byes and first-round bracket. Both sides agree on Miami first, Georgia second and Alabama and Notre Dame as notable placements; they differ in the Times' model-based framing, Fox's grievance and the Daily Caller's bracket focus. Independent outlets add that the SEC got the benefit of the doubt (Yahoo Sports) and highlight Miami's stars and the Notre Dame game (ESPN).