On3 Projects First Playoff Top 25 Ahead of Tuesday Reveal, With Miami on Top

The selection committee will release its first College Football Playoff rankings of 2026 on Tuesday night, and On3 has offered a projection of how that initial Top 25 might look after Week 9. With two-thirds of the season played, the projection tries to sort a crowded field of contenders while allowing for the surprises that usually come with the committee's first reveal.

Miami sits at the top of the projected rankings at 8-0. The Hurricanes have survived close games in recent weeks, including a double-overtime win over Florida State and a tight finish against North Carolina, and they remain one of only three unbeaten Power Four teams. Georgia follows at No. 2 at 7-1, backed by wins at Alabama and over Florida at a neutral site, with Utah third at 8-0 and Kentucky a surprise fourth at 7-1 after six straight wins. UCLA, also unbeaten, rounds out the top five.

The projection also restates how the 12-team bracket works. The top four seeds receive byes, rather than the four highest-ranked conference champions being guaranteed them, and finishing in the top 12 alone does not lock in a place. A power conference champion ranked outside the top 12 is still guaranteed a spot, as is the highest-ranked Group of Six champion, and either can push a top-12 team out of the field.

Tennessee figures into the picture through the teams around it. Texas, projected ninth at 6-2, is placed at the front of the two-loss group in part because its wins include a road victory over the Volunteers, along with wins over Ohio State and Ole Miss. Kentucky, meanwhile, faces a trip to Tennessee as part of a demanding three-game stretch that also includes Florida and a visit to Missouri, a run On3 suggests the Wildcats may need to navigate with two wins to stay comfortable in the race.