Miami takes the opening No. 1 spot

Miami leads the first College Football Playoff selection committee rankings of the 2026 season. The CFP released the list on November 3, covering games played through Saturday, October 31. Georgia, Utah and Indiana complete the top four.

The CFP says this is Miami's first No. 1 ranking. Utah at No. 3 and Kentucky at No. 6 also reached their highest committee positions to date.

The complete November 3 top 25

1. Miami (8-0); 2. Georgia (7-1); 3. Utah (8-0); 4. Indiana (8-1); 5. Alabama (6-2).

6. Kentucky (7-1); 7. Texas (6-2); 8. UCLA (8-0); 9. BYU (7-1); 10. Ole Miss (6-2).

11. Notre Dame (7-1); 12. Ohio State (6-2); 13. Tennessee (6-2); 14. LSU (6-2); 15. Texas Tech (7-1).

16. Wake Forest (7-1); 17. Houston (6-2); 18. Missouri (6-2); 19. Iowa (6-2); 20. Southern California (7-2).

21. South Carolina (5-3); 22. Arizona (6-2); 23. Oregon (5-3); 24. Florida (5-3); 25. Boise State (7-1).

What this means for the playoff field

This is the opening weekly assessment. Selection Day is Sunday, December 6, when the committee sets the final rankings and 12-team bracket. A position in this first top 12 does not secure a playoff place, and a team below it is not eliminated by this list.

The final field also includes automatic conference access. The CFP gives places to the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC champions, plus the highest-ranked team from the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12 and Sun Belt group. Seven at-large selections complete the field. The CFP separately guarantees Notre Dame inclusion if it finishes in the final top 12.

The committee's final top four receive first-round byes. The four positions shown in this opening ranking do not award those byes now.

The next ranking arrives November 10

The CFP says its next list will be revealed Tuesday, November 10, at approximately 9pm ET on ESPN and the ESPN app. That time applies to the rankings programme, not a game kickoff. Access through an app depends on the viewer's service and entitlement.

Use the date on the official table when checking updates. Pre-release projections, other polls and the final December bracket are separate from this November 3 committee list.