{"id":454193,"date":"2026-02-07T09:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T09:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/454193\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T09:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T09:06:10","slug":"cbs-sports-predicts-way-too-early-2026-college-football-playoff-12-team-field-bracket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/454193\/","title":{"rendered":"CBS Sports predicts Way-Too-Early 2026 College Football Playoff 12-team field, bracket"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s never too early to look ahead, as the college football season is done for 2025, and now a long offseason is upon us. The pomp and circumstance of the sport will return in the summertime, but the College Football Playoff<\/a> predictions are already rolling in. <\/p>\n

This past season, Indiana<\/a>\u00a0stood tall above the rest of the field, as the Hoosiers defeated the\u00a0Miami Hurricanes<\/a>\u00a0in the national title game, but will they be able to repeat next season? That\u2019s the question on the mind of CBS Sports\u2019 Brad Crawford<\/a>. <\/p>\n

He took the liberty to project the 2026<\/a> <\/a>College Football Playoff<\/a> <\/a>bracket<\/a>. He\u2019s still a believer in the Hoosiers, having them notch a bye week. Check out who else he\u2019s riding with next season below.<\/p>\n

The sting is real for Miami after losing in the national title game. The good news, though? The Hurricanes have the horses to return in 2026.<\/p>\n

The Canes have taken the steps under\u00a0Mario Cristobal<\/a>, elevating their game and returning to the top of the mountain.\u00a0Carson Beck<\/a>\u00a0won\u2019t be there, but\u00a0Darian Mensah<\/a>\u00a0will be a heck of a replacement.\u00a0CBS Sports has Miami winning the ACC and getting the top overall seed.<\/p>\n

\"NotreNotre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. (MICHAEL CLUBB | SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE | USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Notre Dame won 10 consecutive games, but it couldn\u2019t convince the selection committee to punch a ticket to the 12-team Playoff. Then, the Fighting Irish opted not to participate in bowl season, focusing on 2026 instead.<\/p>\n

It could pay off, with\u00a0Marcus Freeman<\/a>\u00a0leading the way and quarterback\u00a0CJ Carr<\/a> returning. The Fighting Irish should, for all intents and purposes, be one of the best teams in the nation next season. CBS Sports believes a bye week is in its future.<\/p>\n

Arch Manning<\/a>\u00a0is returning for another go-round. Texas won\u2019t let it be for naught, as it is surrounding him with stars all over the offensive side of the football.<\/p>\n

Will it be enough? Time will tell, but after missing the College Football Playoff in 2025, the Longhorns will be more motivated than ever to get back to the 12-team dance. CBS Sports believes they will.<\/p>\n

Curt Cignetti<\/a>\u00a0is building a monster. Indiana is fresh off completing its 16-0 championship season, but there\u2019s no rest for the weary.<\/p>\n

There is no doubt in anyone\u2019s mind that the Hoosiers will be ready to compete once again next season. Fernando Mendoza<\/a>\u00a0will move on to the NFL, but\u00a0TCU<\/a> transfer quarterback\u00a0Josh Hoover<\/a>\u00a0is a more than formidable replacement. CBS Sports thinks the Hoosiers will win the Big Ten and continue their dominance.<\/p>\n

\"BrendanBrendan Sorsby, Cincinnati \u2013 \u00a9 Albert Cesare\/The Enquirer \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Texas Tech is trying to crash the party at the top of the college football world. The Red Raiders made their first impact this season, winning the Big 12 but falling to\u00a0Oregon\u00a0in their playoff game.<\/p>\n

Tech has a big-time transfer coming in at quarterback in\u00a0Brendan Sorsby<\/a>, and he\u2019s expected to take the team to the next level. We\u2019ll see what the Red Raiders have in store for an encore in 2026, but CBS Sports thinks they\u2019ll win the Big 12.<\/p>\n

Georgia hasn\u2019t been able to get back to the national title game after dominating college football for a couple of seasons. Count out\u00a0Kirby Smart<\/a>\u00a0at your own risk.<\/p>\n

The Bulldogs have still captured multiple SEC titles in that time. They want more, and with\u00a0Gunner Stockton<\/a>\u00a0coming back for another season, they can achieve it. CBS Sports still has Georgia making the CFP.<\/p>\n

Dan Lanning<\/a>\u00a0has Oregon in the upper echelon. It feels like a national title is coming, but the Ducks have actually fallen to the past two national champions over the last two seasons in\u00a0Ohio State<\/a>\u00a0and now Indiana.<\/p>\n

Dante Moore<\/a>\u00a0coming back is a huge boost, even after landing\u00a0Dylan Raiola<\/a>\u00a0in the transfer portal. Oregon should compete at the top of the food chain once again in 2026. CBS Sports has them getting an at-large bid.<\/p>\n

\"Ohio(Grace Hollars | IndyStar | USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Ohio State couldn\u2019t go back-to-back, but it wasn\u2019t without trying. The Buckeyes put together an incredible effort, only falling to the two teams that played for it all in\u00a0Indiana\u00a0and\u00a0Miami.<\/p>\n

Julian Sayin<\/a>\u00a0made it to New York for the Heisman Ceremony, and he\u2019ll be back in 2026, along with Jeremiah Smith<\/a>. It\u2019s easy to expect big things from the Buckeyes, and CBS Sports sees an at-large bid in their future.<\/p>\n

Lane Kiffin<\/a> is heading to LSU, and CBS Sports believes the payoff will be immediate. They have the Tigers making the CFP in the coach\u2019s first season with the Tigers, slotting them in at the No. 9 seed.<\/p>\n

With Sam Leavitt<\/a> at quarterback, Kiffin\u2019s offense should be electric as always. Celebrations will certainly take place in Baton Rouge if they make their first expanded CFP in 2026.<\/p>\n

It was a majorly impressive season for\u00a0Mike Elko<\/a>\u00a0at Texas A&M this past year.\u00a0Marcel Reed<\/a>\u00a0was great at quarterback, and the Aggies were able to host their own home playoff game.<\/p>\n

They fell short, but there\u2019s no reason to expect them not to be competitive again in 2026. Reed is returning, and if he takes another step, A&M could be dangerous inside the SEC and beyond.\u00a0An at-large bid is in their future yet again, per CBS Sports.<\/p>\n

Memphis gets into the CFP as the team outside the four major conferences. The Tigers have been building towards this for a couple of seasons, but CBS Sports believes they get over the hump in 2026. <\/p>\n

Charles Huff<\/a> is replacing Ryan Silverfield<\/a>, who left for Arkansas this offseason. They\u2019ll have a ton of transfers, but that hasn\u2019t hampered teams in the past.<\/p>\n

A tumultuous offseason was saved by Michigan\u2019s hire of Kyle Whittingham<\/a>. It was a money hire for the Wolverines after the Sherrone Moore<\/a> debacle took center stage. <\/p>\n

With Bryce Underwood<\/a> back for another go-round, CBS Sports has the Wolverines make a run in the Big Ten. They\u2019re the fourth team from the conference to get into the 12-team dance in these projections. <\/p>\n

First-Round Byes<\/p>\n

No. 1\u00a0Miami (ACC Champion)
No. 2 Notre Dame
No. 3\u00a0Texas (SEC Champion)
No. 4 Indiana (Big Ten Champion)<\/p>\n

First-Round Matchups<\/p>\n

No. 9 LSU at No. 8 Ohio State
No. 12 Michigan at No. 5 Texas Tech (Big 12 Champion)
No. 11 Memphis at No. 6 Georgia
No. 10 Texas A&M at No. 7 Oregon\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s never too early to look ahead, as the college football season is done for 2025, and now…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":454194,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[399,398,396,397,99],"class_list":{"0":"post-454193","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-ncaa","10":"tag-ncaa-football","11":"tag-ncaafootball","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/454194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}