CBS Releases Its 2026 College Football Playoff Prediction
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Less than a month removed from a historic 2025 college football season, CBS Sports already has its eye on what 2026 might have in store for CFB fans.
The College Football Playoff won’t be expanding to 16 teams (for now), so the size of the field will be the same. But the network sees things shaking out a little differently next year when it comes to the programs that qualify for the dance.
Taking a look at both schedules and roster talent, here’s what CBS predicts will be the 12-team Playoff next fall.
CBS releases 2026 CFP bracket projection
Per college football writer Brad Crawford, the 12 teams that will qualify for the 2026 Playoff are:
- Miami Hurricanes
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- Texas Longhorns
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Oregon Ducks
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- LSU Tigers
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Memphis Tigers
- Michigan Wolverines
Way-Too-Early College Football Playoff projection for the 2026 season, via @BCrawford247 👀
What would you change?
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— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) February 3, 2026
Miami Hurricanes projected to be No. 1 seed
While the “U” might’ve come up short in last year’s championship game, CBS believes Mario Cristobal’s Canes should be able to at least match that success in ’26 given their massive amount of talent and very winnable ACC schedule.
“There’s no recency bias here coming out of the Hurricanes’ national championship appearance. Mario Cristobal has another Infinity Gauntlet-like roster, landing his own Thanos of sorts after Duke quarterback Darian Mensah’s recent transfer,” Crawford wrote.
“Pairing Mensah with superstar wideout Malachi Toney means the Hurricanes should have an explosive attack for the third consecutive year in the passing game under OC Shannon Dawson. Outgoing pass rusher Rueben Bain’s recent admission that Miami’s defensive line “might be better” without him is quite worrisome for the rest of the ACC.”
Time will tell how the outlet’s predictions hold up come this time next year. But don’t sleep on the Hoosiers making another national title run in “Chapter 3” if they can make it out of the loaded B1G conference.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Feb 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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