ESPN Not Changing Controversial College Football Playoff Rankings Schedule

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It appears ESPN and the College Football Playoff aren't afraid of ruffling a few feathers.

With the 2026 season roughly three weeks away, ESPN has unveiled the dates for each College Football Playoff rankings show. The first edition of this season's rankings will be unveiled on Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. ET.

Despite fans begging for an updated schedule, the CFP will release new rankings before the conference championship games.

Why is that a problem? Well, we've seen the CFP selection committee completely change its criteria for the rankings before and after the conference title games are played. Eliminating that show date would cut out that problem entirely.

"ESPN/CFP still doing a rankings release ahead of conference championship games. That’s what has boxed the committee into tough spots over the years, especially last year. Because not everyone plays between that + final rankings," Nicole Auerbach of NBC Sports said. "I would have cut that one if it were me."

What about the CFP schedule?

The first round of the CFP will run from Dec. 18-19. The second round, meanwhile, will take place from Dec. 30-Jan. 1. Unfortunately, fans will have to wait until Jan. 14 just to get to the semifinals.

As for the national title game, that's set to take place on Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

While college football would benefit from a schedule change, it doesn't sound like one is coming.

This story was originally published by The Spun on Aug 6, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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