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About and data sources Suggest an improvement
season, through week 6

If bowl season started today

Not official.These are projections from this site's own model, built on its power index. They are not the playoff committee's rankings or any bowl's actual selections, and early in the season they move a lot from week to week.

Uses only the games played so far, plus any results you set in the what-if section. 468 games are still to be played.

Projected national champion Alabama Wins the title in 27% of this bracket's outcomes. Game by game, the favorites' path ends with Georgia.
Alabama27%
Georgia26%
Notre Dame22%
BYU6%
Texas5%

What if

Pick the winner of any game that has not been played. The rankings, the playoff field, the bracket and the bowls on this page are rebuilt around your results. Click a pick again to clear it.

Week 610 games
Week 717 games
Week 815 games
Week 919 games
Week 1015 games, 1 set
Week 1121 games
Week 1221 games
Week 1322 games

The percentage is each team's chance to win as the model sees it. The small number is this page's ranking. Your results change records and strength of record. They do not change how good the model thinks a team is.

12-team playoff bracket

First round

at IndianaDec 18 or 19
8 Indiana 45%
9 Ohio State 55%
at UtahDec 18 or 19
5 Utah 90%
12 North Dakota State 10%
at BYUDec 18 or 19
7 BYU 90%
10 Texas Tech 10%
at MiamiDec 18 or 19
6 Miami 76%
11 Missouri 24%

Quarterfinals

Peach BowlJan 1
1 Alabama 66%
9 Ohio State 34%
Rose BowlJan 1
4 Texas 49%
5 Utah 51%
Cotton BowlJan 1
2 Georgia 66%
7 BYU 34%
Fiesta BowlDec 30
3 Notre Dame 67%
6 Miami 33%

Semifinals

Sugar BowlJan 15
1 Alabama 73%
5 Utah 27%
Orange BowlJan 14
2 Georgia 54%
3 Notre Dame 46%

Championship

Las VegasJan 25
1 Alabama 46%
2 Georgia 54%
WinnerGeorgia

The percentage is each team's chance in that game. The favorite advances. The top four seeds get a first-round bye, and lower seeds play at the higher seed's stadium in the first round. Quarterfinal and semifinal sites are the real ones for the 2026 season, handed out here by region.

The field

SeedTeamRecordHow they got inReach semifinalReach finalWin title
1 Alabama 5-0 SEC champion 71% 52% 27%
2 Georgia 5-0 At-large 69% 41% 26%
3 Notre Dame 5-0 Ranked in the top 12 71% 37% 22%
4 Texas 4-0 At-large 53% 17% 5%
5 Utah 5-0 Big 12 champion 46% 15% 4%
6 Miami 5-0 ACC champion 25% 9% 4%
7 BYU 5-1 At-large 30% 13% 6%
8 Indiana 6-0 Big Ten champion 11% 5% 1%
9 Ohio State 4-1 At-large 19% 11% 4%
10 Texas Tech 5-0 At-large <1% <1% Out
11 Missouri 5-1 At-large 4% <1% <1%
12 North Dakota State 5-0 Mountain West champion 1% <1% Out

First four out: UCLA (4-0), Mississippi State (4-1), LSU (4-1), Houston (4-1). The four power conference champions and the best champion from the other six conferences are in automatically. Notre Dame is in if it is ranked in the top 12. Seeds follow the ranking straight down.

Conference champions

ACCMiami3-0 in conference
AmericanUTSA2-0 in conference
Big 12Utah2-0 in conference
Big TenIndiana3-0 in conference
Conference USALiberty2-0 in conference
MACOhio2-0 in conference
Mountain WestNorth Dakota State2-0 in conference
Pac-12Boise State1-0 in conference
SECAlabama3-0 in conference
Sun BeltTroy2-0 in conference

Bowl projections

Citrus BowlJan 2, Orlando
Mississippi State4-1 44%
UCLA4-0 56%

Pick: UCLA by 2

ReliaQuest BowlDec 31, Tampa
LSU4-1 67%
Nebraska5-1 33%

Pick: LSU by 6

Alamo BowlDec 29, San Antonio
Houston4-1 71%
Boise State4-1 29%

Pick: Houston by 7

Pop-Tarts BowlDec 29, Orlando
Wake Forest5-1 39%
Arizona5-1 61%

Pick: Arizona by 4

Gator BowlDec 30, Jacksonville
Oklahoma2-2 51%
Pittsburgh5-1 49%

Pick: Oklahoma in a toss-up

Holiday BowlDec 28, San Diego
Duke4-0 58%
Fresno State4-1 42%

Pick: Duke by 3

Las Vegas BowlDec 31, Las Vegas
Oregon3-1 63%
Oregon State3-2 37%

Pick: Oregon by 4

Texas BowlDec 31, Houston
Oklahoma State4-1 57%
Ole Miss3-1 43%

Pick: Oklahoma State by 2

Music City BowlDec 30, Nashville
Kentucky4-1 47%
Iowa5-1 53%

Pick: Iowa by 1

Duke's Mayo BowlDec 26, Charlotte
SMU4-1 57%
Wisconsin4-1 43%

Pick: SMU by 2

Liberty BowlJan 2, Memphis
Baylor4-1 60%
Tennessee4-1 40%

Pick: Baylor by 3

Sun BowlDec 31, El Paso
Virginia Tech4-1 42%
USC5-1 58%

Pick: USC by 3

Pinstripe BowlDec 26, New York
Clemson3-2 26%
Northwestern4-1 74%

Pick: Northwestern by 9

Cactus BowlDec 26, Tempe
Minnesota4-1 29%
Kansas State3-1 71%

Pick: Kansas State by 7

Military BowlDec 28, Annapolis
North Carolina3-2 40%
UTSA5-1 60%

Pick: UTSA by 3

Fenway BowlDec 26, Boston
Florida State3-3 45%
Memphis4-1 55%

Pick: Memphis by 2

Independence BowlDec 22, Shreveport
Kansas2-2 63%
Liberty5-1 37%

Pick: Kansas by 4

Birmingham BowlDec 29, Birmingham
Florida4-2 53%
East Carolina3-2 47%

Pick: Florida by 1

Gasparilla BowlDec 18, Tampa
Auburn3-2 61%
Florida Atlantic4-1 39%

Pick: Auburn by 4

First Responder BowlJan 2, Dallas
Cincinnati4-1 47%
North Texas4-2 53%

Pick: North Texas by 1

Armed Forces BowlDec 23, Fort Worth
UCF3-3 59%
Jacksonville State4-2 41%

Pick: UCF by 3

Poinsettia BowlDec 23, San Diego
New Mexico4-1 46%
James Madison5-1 54%

Pick: James Madison by 1

Hawaii BowlDec 24, Honolulu
Air Force3-1 57%
South Florida4-2 43%

Pick: Air Force by 2

New Mexico BowlDec 24, Albuquerque
UNLV3-2 54%
Army3-2 46%

Pick: UNLV by 1

Arizona BowlDate not set, Tucson
Toledo4-1 32%
Georgia State4-1 68%

Pick: Georgia State by 6

Famous Idaho Potato BowlDec 21, Boise
Ohio4-2 24%
Louisiana4-1 76%

Pick: Louisiana by 9

68 Ventures BowlDec 26, Mobile
Louisiana Tech2-2 64%
Florida International3-2 36%

Pick: Louisiana Tech by 5

New Orleans BowlDec 23, New Orleans
Troy4-2 15%
Michigan3-2 85%

Pick: Michigan by 14

Salute to Veterans BowlDec 15, Montgomery
App State3-2 61%
Western Michigan3-2 39%

Pick: App State by 4

Myrtle Beach BowlDec 21, Conway
Vanderbilt3-2 62%
UAB3-2 38%

Pick: Vanderbilt by 4

Cure BowlDec 22, Orlando
Penn State3-2 63%
Arizona State2-2 37%

Pick: Penn State by 4

Boca Raton BowlDec 18, Boca Raton
Syracuse2-2 50%
Texas A&M3-3 50%

Pick: Texas A&M in a toss-up

Frisco BowlDec 23, Frisco
Virginia3-2 62%
Iowa State3-3 38%

Pick: Virginia by 4

Puerto Rico BowlDec 22, Bayamón
Louisville3-3 78%
South Carolina3-3 22%

Pick: Louisville by 10

Frisco Football ClassicDec 15, Frisco
Washington3-3 58%
NC State3-3 42%

Pick: Washington by 2

With the season young, a team counts as on pace for a bowl if it has won at least half its games. Each bowl takes the best team left from the conferences it has a deal with. When a conference runs out of teams, the best team left from anywhere fills the spot. Real selections also weigh travel, rematches and ticket sales, which this does not.

Record projections

RankTeamRecordProjectedExpected winsChance of 6 winsChance to win out
1 Alabama 5-0 11-1 11.0 >99% 28%
2 Georgia 5-0 11-1 11.2 >99% 35%
3 Notre Dame 5-0 11-1 11.2 >99% 36%
4 Texas 4-0 10-2 10.0 >99% 7%
5 Utah 5-0 11-1 10.8 >99% 25%
6 Miami 5-0 11-1 10.8 >99% 16%
7 BYU 5-1 10-2 10.0 >99% 26%
8 Indiana 6-0 11-1 10.7 >99% 20%
9 Ohio State 4-1 10-2 9.6 >99% 19%
10 Texas Tech 5-0 10-2 9.6 >99% 4%
11 Missouri 5-1 9-3 8.7 >99% 2%
12 UCLA 4-0 10-2 10.4 >99% 15%
13 Mississippi State 4-1 8-4 8.4 >99% 1%
14 LSU 4-1 9-3 9.4 >99% 12%
15 Houston 4-1 9-3 9.3 >99% 9%
16 Nebraska 5-1 9-3 9.5 >99% 13%
17 Arizona 5-1 9-3 9.1 >99% 7%
18 Wake Forest 5-1 10-2 9.7 >99% 20%
19 Pittsburgh 5-1 9-3 9.5 >99% 9%
20 Oregon 3-1 8-4 7.6 95% <1%
21 North Dakota State 5-0 11-1 10.8 >99% 17%
22 Oklahoma 2-2 7-5 7.2 92% 2%
23 Iowa 5-1 8-4 8.2 >99% 2%
24 Ole Miss 3-1 6-6 6.3 77% <1%
25 Wisconsin 4-1 8-4 8.0 99% 1%
26 USC 5-1 8-4 7.7 99% <1%
27 Boise State 4-1 9-2 9.0 >99% 31%
28 Northwestern 4-1 8-4 8.0 99% <1%
29 Duke 4-0 8-4 8.5 >99% <1%
30 New Mexico 4-1 10-2 10.0 >99% 33%
31 Oklahoma State 4-1 8-4 7.9 98% 1%
32 Baylor 4-1 7-5 7.4 95% <1%
33 Kentucky 4-1 7-5 6.5 82% <1%
34 James Madison 5-1 10-2 10.1 >99% 37%
35 Tennessee 4-1 8-4 7.8 98% <1%
36 Liberty 5-1 11-1 10.6 >99% 63%
37 SMU 4-1 8-4 8.4 >99% <1%
38 Virginia Tech 4-1 9-3 8.6 >99% 1%
39 UTSA 5-1 8-4 8.5 >99% 4%
40 Georgia State 4-1 9-3 9.3 >99% 9%
41 Kansas State 3-1 7-5 7.1 89% <1%
42 Memphis 4-1 9-3 8.7 >99% 5%
43 Florida 4-2 6-6 6.4 82% <1%
44 Kansas 2-2 7-5 6.6 81% <1%
45 Minnesota 4-1 6-6 6.1 69% <1%
46 Cincinnati 4-1 6-6 6.2 73% <1%
47 Louisiana 4-1 9-3 9.2 >99% 9%
48 Air Force 3-1 9-3 9.3 >99% 10%
49 Michigan 3-2 7-5 6.7 87% <1%
50 Fresno State 4-1 8-3 7.7 99% 4%
51 East Carolina 3-2 8-4 8.2 >99% 11%
52 Florida Atlantic 4-1 8-4 7.8 97% <1%
53 Oregon State 3-2 7-4 7.5 98% 12%
54 Clemson 3-2 7-5 6.6 84% <1%
55 Auburn 3-2 6-6 5.7 55% <1%
56 North Carolina 3-2 5-7 5.3 44% <1%
57 UCF 3-3 6-6 5.8 62% <1%
58 Toledo 4-1 10-2 9.9 >99% 28%
59 North Texas 4-2 8-4 7.8 98% 6%
60 Louisiana Tech 2-2 8-4 7.8 97% 6%
61 Vanderbilt 3-2 5-7 5.0 29% <1%
62 Penn State 3-2 7-5 7.1 91% 1%
63 Arizona State 2-2 5-7 4.7 22% <1%
64 Florida State 3-3 6-6 5.7 58% <1%
65 Troy 4-2 8-4 7.5 97% 3%
66 Syracuse 2-2 5-7 5.5 48% <1%
67 Jacksonville State 4-2 9-3 8.9 >99% 29%
68 Virginia 3-2 7-5 6.6 82% <1%
69 Texas A&M 3-3 5-7 5.2 34% <1%
70 Michigan State 2-3 5-7 4.8 26% <1%
71 South Florida 4-2 8-4 7.9 >99% 5%
72 Louisville 3-3 7-5 6.9 91% 6%
73 Iowa State 3-3 5-7 4.7 21% <1%
74 Purdue 2-3 4-8 4.3 15% <1%
75 TCU 2-3 4-8 4.4 15% <1%
76 South Carolina 3-3 5-7 4.9 27% <1%
77 Maryland 2-3 5-7 4.9 30% <1%
78 Ohio 4-2 8-4 8.1 >99% 8%
79 UNLV 3-2 7-5 7.1 96% <1%
80 Colorado 2-3 4-8 4.2 13% <1%
81 Texas State 2-3 6-5 5.7 58% 2%
82 Army 3-2 6-6 5.6 50% <1%
83 App State 3-2 7-5 6.8 88% <1%
84 Florida International 3-2 7-5 6.7 88% <1%
85 Washington 3-3 5-7 4.9 29% <1%
86 Western Michigan 3-2 7-5 7.5 96% 2%
87 UAB 3-2 6-6 5.6 49% <1%
88 Illinois 2-3 4-8 3.6 5% <1%
89 NC State 3-3 6-6 6.3 74% 2%
90 Tulsa 3-3 7-5 6.8 89% 5%
91 Navy 2-3 6-6 5.7 59% <1%
92 Arkansas 2-3 3-9 2.7 <1% <1%
93 Georgia Southern 2-3 5-7 5.3 42% <1%
94 Massachusetts 4-2 8-4 7.8 99% 3%
95 West Virginia 3-3 4-8 3.9 3% <1%
96 Marshall 3-2 6-6 5.8 60% <1%
97 Miami (OH) 3-3 7-5 7.2 95% 10%
98 California 2-3 4-8 3.7 4% <1%
99 Boston College 2-3 3-9 3.4 2% <1%
100 South Alabama 4-2 6-6 5.8 58% <1%
101 Stanford 2-3 4-8 3.6 2% <1%
102 Sam Houston 1-4 6-6 6.4 84% 12%
103 Temple 2-3 5-7 5.4 46% <1%
104 Central Michigan 3-3 6-6 6.5 81% 3%
105 Tulane 2-3 5-7 4.8 27% <1%
106 UConn 2-3 6-6 5.5 51% <1%
107 Colorado State 2-3 4-7 3.7 3% <1%
108 San Diego State 2-3 4-7 3.6 2% <1%
109 Georgia Tech 1-3 2-10 2.3 <1% <1%
110 Delaware 2-3 5-7 5.1 36% <1%
111 San José State 3-3 6-7 5.7 59% <1%
112 Eastern Michigan 3-3 6-6 5.6 51% <1%
113 Utah State 2-4 4-7 3.6 2% <1%
114 Kent State 2-3 4-8 4.5 18% <1%
115 Middle Tennessee 2-3 4-8 4.0 8% <1%
116 Arkansas State 2-4 5-7 4.9 27% <1%
117 Old Dominion 2-4 4-8 4.3 14% <1%
118 Wyoming 3-3 5-7 5.1 29% <1%
119 Western Kentucky 2-4 3-9 3.3 1% <1%
120 Rutgers 1-4 2-10 1.7 <1% <1%
121 Kennesaw State 1-4 4-8 4.3 14% <1%
122 Rice 1-5 3-9 2.8 <1% <1%
123 Nevada 1-3 3-9 3.3 2% <1%
124 New Mexico State 2-4 4-8 4.1 8% <1%
125 Buffalo 2-3 4-8 4.0 8% <1%
126 Coastal Carolina 1-4 3-9 2.9 <1% <1%
127 Southern Miss 1-4 3-9 3.2 2% <1%
128 Missouri State 1-4 3-9 2.6 <1% <1%
129 Northern Illinois 0-4 2-10 2.3 <1% <1%
130 Akron 1-4 3-9 3.2 2% <1%
131 Ball State 1-5 4-8 3.8 5% <1%
132 Hawai'i 1-4 4-8 4.1 6% <1%
133 Washington State 1-5 2-9 2.2 <1% <1%
134 Bowling Green 2-4 4-8 3.5 2% <1%
135 UTEP 1-4 2-10 2.0 <1% <1%
136 UL Monroe 0-5 1-11 1.2 <1% <1%
137 Charlotte 0-6 0-12 0.3 <1% <1%

Rank is this page's committee-style ranking: half the power index, half strength of record. Projected is the record a team is most likely to finish near, from its chance in each remaining game. Bowls and playoff games are not counted in these records, and a conference title game counts only once it is on the schedule.

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