After a fun time during Week Zero, it's the official countdown for the first full week of the college football season. And before we dive into all the things that will happen over the next 15–16 weeks, we have to close out this very long offseason with a playoff prediction.
The good news is that I predict the Miami Hurricanes will return to the CFP 12-team bracket as the ACC Champions. The Hurricanes will be the only team from the ACC to make the bracket, but that won't stop the committee from giving them a first-round bye with a 12-1 record. And the defending national champions, Indiana, will also be in the bracket, albeit outside the top four seeds.
So here's my prediction on the 12 teams that will make up the 2026 College Football Playoffs:
The Buckeyes get sweet revenge on the Indiana Hoosiers by knocking them off on October 17 in Bloomington and bumping them into the at-large pool. Then things get better for Ohio State by upsetting previously unbeaten Oregon in the Big 10 championship game and earning the top overall seed with a 12-1 record.
Finally, the Longhorns came through and knocked off Georgia to win the SEC championship. Arch Manning doesn't have quite the Heisman season that some expected, but he performed well in wins over Ohio State and Georgia to get Texas a first-round bye.
As I was working through the various possibilities, I originally had the Hurricanes as the ACC Champions and SMU as the second ACC team and an at-large with a 10-3 record, but I think the eventual loss to Miami in the ACC championship game leaves the Mustangs out. As for the Hurricanes, it's return to the 12-team playoffs and a first conference championship, with Darian Mensah setting a school record for touchdown passes.
Jim Lanning's squad didn't win the Big Ten championship, but still receive one of the first-round byes after winning the first 12 games and being ranked No. 1 for a large majority of the season. Despite the loss to the Buckeyes in championship week, the Ducks are considered the team to beat even at the fourth seed.
Projected CFP first-round matchups
No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs (11-2) vs. No. 12 South Florida Bulls (12-1)
Georgia's consolation for losing in the SEC championship game is hosting a first-round game against the American Conference champions, who will be making their first postseason appearance.
No. 6 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-1) vs. No. 11 USC Trojans (10-2)
What are the chances of this classic rivalry being reignited in the playoffs after a bitter offseason? It feels too good to be true after Lincoln Riley's Trojans survived a tough conference schedule only to get a date in South Bend.
No. 7 LSU Tigers (10-2) vs. No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners (10-2)
Even though the Tigers and the Sooners didn't get into the SEC championship game, they will get to settle part of that argument in Death Valley.
No. 8 Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-1) vs. No. 9 Indiana Hoosiers (10-2)
Indiana makes the playoffs for the third consecutive season and will travel to Lubbock to take on the Big 12 champion Red Raiders, who will try to erase the memories of last year's playoff loss to Oregon.
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