PROVO, Utah — BYU (7-1) received a No. 9 ranking in the first release of the 2026 College Football Playoff rankings revealed by the CFP selection committee on Tuesday.
The Big 12 has five teams in the initial rankings, including No. 3 Utah and No. 9 BYU in the top 10. The two rivals will play this Saturday in Salt Lake City (ABC, 10 a.m. MT). Other Big 12 teams ranked by the CFP include Texas Tech at No. 15, Houston at No. 17 and Arizona at No. 22. BYU has a 2-0 record against teams in the CFP rankings this season, with wins over No. 11 Notre Dame and No. 22 Arizona.
The Cougars, who are currently ranked No. 7 by The Associated Press and No. 8 by the AFCA, have received a top-10 rating in the initial CFP selection committee assessments for a third straight season. Last year the Cougars were included in all six of the CFP rankings, receiving rankings of No. 7, No. 12, No. 11, No. 11, No. 11 and No. 12. In 2024, the Cougars were also ranked in all six CFP releases at No. 9, No. 6, No. 14, No. 19, No. 18 and No. 17.
This year the CFP selection committee has ranked Miami (8-0) of the ACC in the top spot, followed by No. 2 Georgia (7-1) of the SEC, No. 3 Utah (8-0) of the Big 12, reigning national champion No. 4 Indiana (8-1) of the Big Ten and No. 5 Alabama (6-2) of the SEC rounding out the top five. Kentucky (7-1) and Texas (6-2) of the SEC are ranked No. 6 and No. 7, followed by No. 8 UCLA (8-0) from the Big Ten, No. 9 BYU (7-1) of the Big 12 and No. 10 Ole Miss (6-2) from the SEC. Independent Notre Dame (7-1) is No. 11, with Ohio State (6-2) of the Big Ten at No. 12.
The rest of the CFP rankings include No. 13 Tennessee (6-2), No. 14 LSU (6-2), No. 15 Texas Tech (7-1), No. 16 Wake Forest (7-1), No. 17 Houston (6-2), No. 18 Missouri (6-2), No. 19 Iowa (6-2), No. 20 USC (7-2), No. 21 South Carolina (5-3), No. 22 Arizona (6-2), No. 23 Oregon (5-3), No. 24 Florida (5-3) and No. 25 Boise State (7-1).
The SEC has 10 teams in the CFP rankings, including five in the top 10. The Big Ten has six teams, followed by the Big 12 with five and the ACC with two, while independents and the Pac-12 have one apiece.