Who will make the College Football Playoff? College Football 27 simulates season
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It won’t be long before the race for the College Football Playoff officially gets underway, but who has a realistic shot of making the bracket?
Aside from the obvious contenders, it’s hard to predict what exactly the 12-team field will actually look like. Recent history has shown some surprises making their way in, meaning there are all sorts of combinations of who could end up make the field that will decide the season’s national championship.
In an attempt to get a sense of who could be in the 2026 College Football Playoff, USA TODAY Sports simulated the upcoming season in the College Football 27 video game 100 times. While it’s anyone’s guess as to what the bracket will be, it’s worth noting in last year’s simulation, every team that made the playoff did appear at least once. So, perhaps this could be a good omen?
Who made College Football Playoff the most in College Football 27?
The reigning national runner-up is poised to return for redemption. Miami made the playoff the most of any team, reaching the field in 91 of the 100 simulations. It also happened to be one of the 21 teams to win the national championship.
The Hurricanes were one of nine teams to make it more than 50% of the time, including: Ohio State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Southern California, Notre Dame, Mississippi, Brigham Young and SMU. That’s a great spot to be, as five of the eight teams that made it more than half of the time last year eventually qualified for the playoff.
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Every team to make College Football Playoff in College Football 27 simulation
Like last season, are all 12 College Football Playoff teams in this list? In 100 simulations, 57 of the 138 teams in Bowl Subdivision made it at least once.
Here is every team that made the College Football Playoff for this season, along with how many times it appeared in the field:
- Miami: 91 appearances
- Ohio State: 85
- Texas Tech: 66
- Oklahoma: 62
- Southern California: 59
- Notre Dame: 59
- Mississippi: 56
- Brigham Young: 54
- SMU: 53
- Indiana: 49
- Oregon: 44
- Boise State: 44
- Virginia: 44
- Kansas State: 34
- Texas A&M: 32
- South Carolina: 30
- UCLA: 27
- Memphis: 27
- UNLV: 25
- Tennessee: 23
- Nebraska: 21
- Louisville: 19
- Georgia: 19
- LSU: 18
- Utah: 18
- Michigan: 14
- Texas: 14
- Missouri: 14
- Pittsburgh: 12
- Alabama: 11
- Duke: 8
- Penn State: 7
- Auburn: 6
- Alabama-Birmingham: 6
- Iowa: 5
- Central Florida: 5
- Colorado: 4
- Minnesota: 3
- Washington: 3
- Arizona: 3
- Clemson: 2
- Tulane: 2
- James Madison: 2
- Wisconsin: 2
- North Dakota State: 2
- Virginia Tech: 1
- Miami Ohio: 1
- Wake Forest: 1
- Fresno State: 1
- Oklahoma State: 1
- North Texas: 1
- Tulsa: 1
- Rutgers: 1
- Florida: 1
- Houston: 1
- South Florida: 1
- Florida State: 1
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who will make the College Football Playoff? College Football 27 simulates season
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