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Come Fan with UsWednesday, August 5, 2026

College Football Playoff rankings and bracket on final week before Championship Saturday

How far does Ohio State fall after their shocking loss to Michigan?

Auburn v Alabama
Auburn v Alabama
Photo by Jason Clark/Getty Images

It’s finally Championship week, and it feels like the college football world is just ready to get these rankings out of the way so the playoff can start. The biggest shakeup is coming from Columbus, where Ohio State squandered a grand opportunity by losing at home to Michigan 13-10. This would surely drop the Buckeyes out of that fifth spot, holding them from getting the potential fourth seeded team in the second round to now having to possibly play on the road before facing the one seed. In addition, with Miami losing to Syracuse, this opens the door for a team like Alabama to backdoor their way into the playoff despite having 3 losses. If SMU beats Clemson and wins the ACC, then the bottom part of the rankings are set for the playoff, leaving 10-2 Miami out.

Here’s what the bracket would look like if the season ended today:

With that being said, here are the latest CFP rankings and projected 12-team playoff:

1 . Oregon Ducks
2. Texas Longhorns
3. Penn State Nittany Lions
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
5. Georgia Bulldogs
6. Ohio State Buckeyes
7. Tennessee Volunteers
8. SMU Mustangs
9. Indiana Hoosiers
10. Boise State Broncos
11. Alabama Crimson Tide
12. Miami Hurricanes
13. Ole Miss
14. South Carolina Gamecocks
15. Arizona State Sun Devils
16. Iowa State Cyclones
17. Clemson Tigers
18. BYU Cougars
19. Missouri Tigers
20. UNLV Rebels
21. Illinois Fighting Illini
22. Syracuse Orange
23. Colorado Buffaloes
24. Army Black Knights
25. Memphis Tigers

First Round Byes: No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 SMU, No. 4 Boise State

First Round Matchups:

No. 5 Penn State vs. No. 12 Arizona State
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Alabama
No. 7 Georgia vs. No. 10 Indiana
No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Tennessee

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