ATHENS, Ga. — Playoff selectors opened the 2026 College Football Playoff rankings with the Georgia Bulldogs at No. 2, trailing only undefeated Miami and sitting ahead of Utah and Indiana.
The committee published the first of six ranking boards on Nov. 3. In the 12-team field, the top four seeds receive a first-round bye even if they do not later claim a conference title. On the opening board those bye slots belong to Miami, Georgia, Utah and Indiana.
The Bulldogs are 7-1 and sit alone as the highest one-loss club in the ranking. Their lone setback was to Auburn, which was 4-4 when the board came out, but selectors also credited Georgia’s victories over Alabama and Florida. Miami is 8-0, owns the No. 1 spot for the first time in school history and is the first ACC program to lead an opening CFP board since Clemson in 2017.
Utah is also 8-0 and holds No. 3, the best CFP placement in Utes history. Indiana is 8-1 at No. 4. Ten SEC teams made the top 25, more than any other league, with the Big Ten next at six.
A snapshot bracket built from the first board would give the Group of 5 automatic berth to No. 25 Boise State as the No. 12 seed. Ohio State and Tennessee were the first two clubs left outside that projected field in the NCAA.com read of the ranking.
Georgia visits Ole Miss on Saturday night looking to strengthen its resume inside a crowded SEC race and a larger playoff field than the sport used for most of the last decade. Later ranking boards will reshape the top four as conference races tighten, but the opening list already puts the Bulldogs in the bye group if the season ended today.
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