College football Week 9 straight-up picks
Before The Snap’s Week 9 picks include Texas A&M-LSU, BYU-Iowa State, Illinois-Washington and more.
The field for the 2025-26 College Football Playoff picture is slowly starting to come into focus.
Ryan Day, Julian Sayin and Ohio State look like the undisputed No. 1 projected seed in the 12-team CFP field. The Buckeyes look to become the first team to win consecutive CFP championships since Georgia won in the 2021 and 2022 college football seasons with a combined 29-1 record.
Stream CFP rankings release shows live with Fubo (free trial)
From there, it will be intriguing to see how the selection committee fields the remainer of the field in the first set of rankings. If the season were to end after Week 9, however, the majority of those spots would be taken up by Big Ten and SEC teams, based on rankings from both the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25.
The 2025-26 College Football Playoff begins on Friday, Dec. 19 with first-round games taking place on campuses throughout the country. The national championship game will take place six weeks later on Monday, Jan. 19, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Here’s what to know about the first set of CFP rankings, the unveiling schedule and how to watch the College Football Playoff:
When do College Football Playoff rankings come out?
- Date: Tuesday, Nov. 4
- Time: 8 p.m. ET
The first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2025 season will be released Tuesday, Nov. 4 at p.m. ET. Four subsequent top 25 rankings will be released every Tuesday through Dec. 2.
The official 12-team College Football Playoff field will be unveiled on Sunday, Dec. 7 at noon ET.
How to watch CFP rankings release
ESPN will broadcast each College Football Playoff rankings show. Streaming options for the rankings release show include the ESPN app (with a TV login) and Fubo, which carries the ESPN family of networks and offers a free trial to new subscribers.
Stream CFP rankings release shows live with Fubo (free trial)
CFP rankings release schedule
Here is a list of the full dates when the 2026 College Football Playoff rankings will be released:
- Tuesday, Nov. 4 (8 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, Nov. 11 (7 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, Nov. 18 (8:30 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, Nov. 25 (7 p.m. ET)
- Tuesday, Dec. 2 (7 p.m. ET)
- Sunday, Dec. 7 (noon ET)
2025-26 College Football Playoff schedule
Here is a list of full dates for the 2026 College Football Playoff:
- Selection show: Sunday, Dec. 7
- First round: Friday, Dec. 19 and Saturday, Dec. 20
- Quarterfinals: Wednesday, Dec. 31 and Thursday, Jan. 1
- Semifinals: Thursday, Jan. 8 and Friday, Jan. 9
- National championship: Monday, Jan. 19
