CFP Committee to Release First Rankings Tuesday
The selection committee's initial CFP rankings arrive Tuesday night, with the AP Top 25 poll already showing broad agreement on which teams merit ranking.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Football
The College Football Playoff selection committee will release its first rankings Tuesday night, November 3. Across the 12 playoff years examined, 283 of 300 teams in initial CFP rankings also appeared in that week's AP poll.
Why it matters
The first CFP rankings shape how the national championship race is framed, and comparing them with the AP poll shows how closely the two bodies have historically aligned. The degree of agreement has varied widely from year to year.
Of 300 teams in initial CFP rankings over 12 years, 283 also appeared in the AP poll that week, a 94% overlap. The committee and AP agreed on the No. 1 team in seven of those 12 years, while the two rankings placed teams in the identical spot only 28% of the time.
The players
College Football Playoff selection committee
The committee is the body that produces the CFP rankings used to select the teams for the national playoff, and its initial rankings are compared against the AP poll each season.
Associated Press (AP) Top 25 poll
The AP Top 25 is a long-running weekly poll of sportswriters and broadcasters that serves as the traditional benchmark against which CFP rankings are measured.
The details
The selection committee's first rankings will be released Tuesday night, and the AP Top 25 released Sunday serves as the comparison point. Recent movers include UCLA, up 22 spots to No. 5 under first-year coach Bob Chesney, and Utah, up 18 spots to No. 3. Week 10 features six Top 25 matchups, including No. 1 Miami at No. 4 Notre Dame.
Timeline
Tuesday, November 3, 2026: CFP selection committee releases first rankings.
2015: No teams shared the same ranking spot between CFP and AP.
2020: Alabama won the national championship as No. 1 in initial CFP rankings.
2021: Georgia won the national championship as No. 1 in initial CFP rankings.
Season Trajectory
Measured against the 12-year record, the 94% overlap between initial CFP rankings and the AP poll suggests the committee has generally tracked the same teams voters already favor. Yet the 2015 season, when no team shared a ranking spot between the two, shows how far the two bodies can diverge in a given year.
The rankings shape which teams fans and fantasy managers track most closely in the weeks ahead. A higher CFP ranking can also affect how teams are positioned for the playoff bracket.
The takeaway
Because the CFP and AP rankings agree on most teams, a lower-ranked team's upset can still reshape the playoff picture. Tracking both polls side by side offers a clearer view of where the committee may differ from voters.
What happens next
The selection committee releases its first CFP rankings Tuesday night, November 3, 2026, and the rankings will be updated in subsequent weeks.
Further reading
For more on the teams driving the playoff race, see Football coverage across the season.
