Way-too-early 2026 College Football Playoff Brackets: Expert Picks, Imaginative Scenarios

The Indiana Hoosiers person hardly lifted nan College Football Playoff nationalist title trophy, but it’s ne'er excessively early (right?) to look up to adjacent season. As it stands, nan format remains nan aforesaid for 2026 pinch a 12-team section featuring nan 5 highest-ranked convention champions and nan apical 4 seeds receiving first-round byes. Sports Illustrated writers Pat Forde and Bryan Fischer springiness their picks connected who will make a playoff tally adjacent season, past delve into immoderate imaginative scenarios for further brackets. 

Way-Too-Early 2026 CFP Brackets

1. Pat Forde’s way-too-early 2026 College Football Playoff bracket
2. Bryan Fischer’s way-too-early 2026 College Football Playoff bracket
3. The Cignetti Domination Bracket 
4. Next Indiana Bracket
5. Hot Seat Bracket
6. Heisman Bracket

Pat Forde’s way-too-early 2026 College Football Playoff bracket

How I spot nan 2026–27 CFP playing out. More Big Ten hardware, less SEC teams successful nan mix, and a repetition of nan 2024 title game.

Seeding

1. Ohio State
2. Notre Dame
3. Indiana
4. Georgia
5. Texas
6. Oregon
7. Miami
8. Texas Tech
9. Texas A&M
10. USC
11. BYU
12. Boise State 

Championship: No. 1 Ohio State complete No. 2 Notre Dame

Bryan Fischer’s way-too-early 2026 College Football Playoff bracket

Dan Lanning has made year-over-year advancement each play since taking complete and yet gets an elusive title for Phil Knight successful 2026, pinch nan sport’s biggest upstart topping its top old-school brand. The Ducks person a ton coming backmost connected some sides of nan shot and besides person a uncommon spot of QB extent pinch Dylan Raiola backing up Dante Moore. Marcus Freeman’s Fighting Irish should beryllium decently motivated to spell connected different agelong CFP tally (and person nan schedule to do so) while there’s a logic that Texas is erstwhile again getting a ton of preseason hype astir Arch Manning & Co.

I deliberation this is yet nan play wherever BYU gets complete nan hump successful nan Big 12 and Miami really makes it to Charlotte for nan ACC title crippled if nan Hurricanes really do onshore Darian Mensah astatine quarterback. SMU is my sneaky at-large prime extracurricular nan Power 2 conferences pinch Kevin Jennings successful his 3rd twelvemonth arsenic a starter while Alabama and Michigan person capable talent and coaching acumen to navigate their difficult schedules to make it to nan first round.

Seeding

1. Oregon
2. Texas
3. Notre Dame
4. Indiana 
5. Ohio State
6. Georgia
7. BYU
8. Miami 
9. Alabama
10. Michigan
11. SMU
12. Boise State

Championship: No. 1 Oregon complete No. 3 Notre Dame

Much for illustration we did earlier nan season, we turned into bracketologists and person 4 further brackets looking astatine immoderate of nan awesome storylines for this offseason and heading into adjacent season.

The Cignetti Domination Bracket 

Operating nether nan mentation that Curt Cignetti is now an unstoppable overlord who will proceed to trample assemblage football, present is who nan Indiana Hoosiers will predominate adjacent season. Cignetti’s coattails will go truthful powerful that 3 of his erstwhile schools (North Carolina State, West Virginia and James Madison) will beryllium dragged upward. Big Ten rivals Ohio State and Oregon, among others successful nan league, will beryllium sufficiently demoralized that they will falter.

In this bracket, Cignetti will get to destruct different SEC blueblood successful nan Rose Bowl (Texas), different big-dollar NIL instrumentality successful nan semifinals (Texas Tech) and nan past squad to conclusion him successful nan last (Notre Dame). At that point, he and nan Hoosiers will beryllium connected a 32-game winning streak.

Seeding

1. Indiana
2. Notre Dame
3. Georgia
4. Texas Tech 
5. Miami
6. Ohio State
7. Texas A&M
8. Texas
9. Oregon
10. NC State 
11. West Virginia 
12. James Madison 

First Round

• No. 12 James Madison complete No. 5 Miami
• No. 11 West Virginia complete No. 6 Ohio State
• No. 10 NC State complete No. 7 Texas A&M
• No. 8 Texas complete No. 9 Oregon

Quarterfinals

• No. 1 Indiana complete No. 8 Texas
• No. 2 Notre Dame complete No. 10 NC State
• No. 3 Georgia complete No. 11 West Virginia 
• No. 4 Texas Tech complete No. 12 James Madison

Semifinals

• No. 1 Indiana complete No. 4 Texas Tech
• No. 2 Notre Dame complete No. 3 Georgia

Championship

• No. 1 Indiana complete No. 2 Notre Dame 

Next Indiana Bracket

Which historical loser could beryllium nan adjacent to emergence each nan measurement up done nan ranks? Selecting and seeding 12 programs pinch all-time losing records, according to sports-reference.com, that tin situation to dream.

Seeding

1. Northwestern
2. Vanderbilt 
3. Illinois
4. Kentucky
5. Virginia
6. Wake Forest
7. Kansas State
8. Rutgers
9. Iowa State
10. Mississippi State 
11. Kansas
12. Colorado State

First Round

• No. 5 Virginia complete No. 12 Colorado State
• No. 6 Wake Forest complete No. 11 Kansas
• No. 7 Kansas State complete No. 10 Mississippi State
• No. 8 Rutgers complete No. 9 Iowa State 

Quarterfinals

• No. 1 Northwestern complete No. 8 Rutgers
• No. 2 Vanderbilt complete No. 7 Kansas State
• No. 3 Illinois complete No. 6 Wake Forest
• No. 4 Kentucky complete No. 5 Virginia

Semifinals

• No. 1 Northwestern complete No. 4 Kentucky
• No. 2 Vanderbilt complete No. 3 Illinois

Championship

• No. 1 Northwestern complete No. 2 Vanderbilt

Hot Seat Bracket

An overly progressive coaching carousel successful 2025 dwindled nan number of firmly basking seats, but location are still plentifulness of coaches emotion nan occurrence from their instrumentality bases. Perhaps if immense buyouts were not an obstacle, guys for illustration Mike Norvell, Dave Aranda and Luke Fickell would person already been shown nan door, but there’s small mobility that nan group will each beryllium coaching for their jobs this season.

There are others, for illustration Lincoln Riley, who request to reward nan investments nan schoolhouse person made successful nan programme pinch nan requisite wins connected nan section while nan fans are bound to beryllium agitating to get nan pitchforks retired if it’s much of nan aforesaid from Dabo Swinney, Scott Satterfield aliases Mike Locksley. Like it aliases not, there’s plentifulness of unit connected first-year guys for illustration Lane Kiffin and Pete Golding, who will everlastingly beryllium linked and beryllium judged against each different connected apical of their gathering successful Oxford, Miss., this September. While Dave Doeren and Josh Heupel look reasonably safe pinch their administrations, nan fans person a different sentiment aft not gathering expectations. Thomas Hammock must navigate a caller convention successful DeKalb, Ill., connected apical of nan Huskies going 3–9 past season.

Seeding

1. Mike Norvell, Florida State
2. Dave Aranda, Baylor
3. Luke Fickell, Wisconsin
4. Lincoln Riley, USC
5. Dabo Swinney, Clemson
6. Scott Satterfield, Cincinnati
7. Mike Locksley, Maryland
8. Pete Golding, Ole Miss
9. Lane Kiffin, LSU
10. Dave Doeren, NC State
11. Josh Heupel, Tennessee
12. Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois

First Round 

• No. 12 Thomas Hammock vs. No. 5 Dabo Swinney
• No. 11 Josh Heupel vs. No. 6 Scott Satterfield
• No. 10 Dave Doeren vs. No. 7 Mike Locksley
• No. 9 Lane Kiffin vs. No. 8 Pete Golding

Quarterfinals

• No. 8 Pete Golding vs. No. 1 Mike Norvell
• No. 7 Mike Locksley vs. No. 2 Dave Aranda
• No. 6 Scott Satterfield vs. No. 3 Luke Fickell
• No. 5 Dabo Swinney vs. No. 4 Lincoln Riley

Semifinals

• No. 4 Lincoln Riley vs. No. 1 Mike Norvell
• No. 3 Luke Fickell vs. No. 2 Dave Aranda

Championship

• No. 1 Mike Norvell vs. No. 2 Dave Aranda

Heisman Bracket

Have you heard astir nan Texas backmost pinch a celebrated past sanction who is garnering rather a spot of preseason hype? No, it’s not déjà vu from past year, but it’s clip to commencement believing successful a travel to New York for Arch Manning pinch nan number of weapons he’ll person astatine his disposal successful 2026. He’s 1 of respective quarterbacks successful their aforesaid occupation for different play who should facet prominently successful nan Heisman Trophy race, including Dante Moore aft he returned to Oregon, a highly motivated CJ Carr astatine Notre Dame and caller finalist Julian Sayin astatine Ohio State. 

There’s besides a big of caller faces successful caller places who person Heisman potential, including Sam Leavitt playing for Lane Kiffin and LSU, Brendan Sorsby making nan move to Texas Tech and Josh Hoover trying to switch nan existent holder, Fernando Mendoza, successful Bloomington, Ind. Don’t discount Jeremiah Smith aliases Malachi Toney either arsenic they are truthful electrifying and person a chance to really make waves pinch moreover amended backmost play.

Seeding

1. Arch Manning, QB, Texas
2. Dante Moore, QB, Oregon
3. CJ Carr, QB, Notre Dame
4. Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State
5. Sam Leavitt, QB, LSU
6. Josh Hoover, QB, Indiana
7. Julian Sayin, QB, Ohio State
8. Brendan Sorsby, QB, Texas Tech
9. Gunner Stockton, QB, Georgia
10. John Mateer, QB, Oklahoma
11. Bryce Underwood, QB, Michigan
12. Malachi Toney, WR, Miami

First Round

• No. 12 Malachi Toney vs. No. 5 Sam Leavitt
• No. 11 Bryce Underwood vs. No. 6 Josh Hoover
• No. 10 John Mateer vs. No. 7 Julian Sayin
• No. 9 Gunner Stockton vs. No. 8 Brendan Sorsby

Quarterfinals

• No. 5 Sam Leavitt vs. No. 4 Jeremiah Smith
• No. 6 Josh Hoover vs. No. 3 CJ Carr
• No. 7 Julian Sayin vs. No. 2 Dante Moore
• No. 8 Brendan Sorsby vs. No. 1 Arch Manning

Semifinals

• No. 1 Arch Manning vs. No. 4 Jeremiah Smith
• No. 2 Dante Moore vs. No. 3 CJ Carr

Championship

• No. 1 Arch Manning vs. No. 2 Dante Moore

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