College Football Playoff bracket
Twelve teams, eleven games, one committee everybody already hates. Fill it in before Las Vegas settles the argument.
The bracket
The field and seeds are set on Selection Day, Sunday, December 6. Until then it's the real bracket with its seed lines - pick by seed, or print it blank.
Want it to score itself?
Run this bracket as a free pool - everyone fills theirs in, results score automatically, and the leaderboard settles who actually called it.
How the bracket works
A College Football Playoff bracket is twelve teams and eleven games: four first-round games on campus, then the quarterfinals, semifinals and the National Championship. The top four seeds skip the first round, so this bracket has them waiting in the quarterfinals for whoever survives - the same structure the playoff is played on, not a generic ladder.
- Start from the real bracket. Twelve teams: the top four seeds get a bye, seeds 5 to 12 play the first round. The field and seeds are announced on Selection Day, Sunday, December 6.
- Pick a winner in every game. Click the team you think wins and they move on. Change your mind and the later rounds clear themselves, so your bracket never has a team in the semifinals that lost in December.
- Follow it to Las Vegas. Work through the First Round, Quarterfinals, Semifinals to the National Championship at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Monday, January 25, 2027.
- Print it or make it count. Print it, copy your picks into the group chat, or play the live bracket with your friends so it scores itself against the real results.
No sign-up, nothing saved, nothing to install. Refresh and you're back to a clean bracket.
How the 2026-27 bracket is decided
12 teams, 4 byes, 4 rounds, one trophy.
Twelve teams, five automatic bids
The ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC champions are in automatically, and so is the highest-ranked team from the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12 and Sun Belt - champion or not. Notre Dame also gets in automatically if it finishes in the top 12. The other spots are at-large picks from the committee's final ranking.
The top four get a bye
The four highest-ranked teams are seeded 1 to 4 and skip the first round, conference title or not - that changed in 2025, when byes stopped being reserved for conference champions. Seeds 5 to 12 play the first round on the higher seed's home field on December 18-19.
The bracket does not re-seed
The paths are fixed on Selection Day: the 1 seed meets the 8 v 9 winner, the 4 seed the 5 v 12 winner, the 3 seed the 6 v 11 winner and the 2 seed the 7 v 10 winner. The quarterfinals are the Fiesta, Cotton, Rose and Peach Bowls; the semifinals are the Orange and Sugar Bowls.
One game a round, final in Las Vegas
Every round is a single game. The quarterfinals run December 30 and January 1, the semifinals January 14-15, and the National Championship is on Monday, January 25, 2027 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
FAQ
How does the College Football Playoff bracket work?+
Twelve teams, seeded 1 to 12 by the selection committee. Seeds 1 to 4 get a bye; the first round is 5 v 12, 6 v 11, 7 v 10 and 8 v 9 on the higher seed's home field. The winners meet the bye seeds in the quarterfinals - 1 v 8/9, 2 v 7/10, 3 v 6/11, 4 v 5/12 - and the bracket never re-seeds.
When is the 2026-27 CFP bracket released?+
On Selection Day, Sunday, December 6. The committee publishes weekly rankings from Tuesday, November 3, but the field and the seeds are only set on Selection Day. Until then this bracket shows the seed lines and fills in the teams once they're announced.
Who gets a first-round bye?+
The four highest-ranked teams in the committee's final ranking - conference champions or not. Before 2025 the byes went to the four highest-ranked conference champions; that rule is gone.
Who gets an automatic bid?+
The ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC champions, plus the highest-ranked team from the American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12 and Sun Belt, whether or not it won its conference. Notre Dame is in automatically if it finishes in the top 12. Everyone else is an at-large pick.
When and where are the playoff games?+
First round: December 18-19, at the higher seed's stadium. Quarterfinals: December 30 and January 1 in the Fiesta, Cotton, Rose and Peach Bowls. Semifinals: January 14-15 in the Orange and Sugar Bowls. National Championship: Monday, January 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Can I print the bracket?+
Yes. Fill in as much as you like and hit Print - you get the bracket alone, dark on white, with your picks in it. It works blank too, if you'd rather do it in pen.
Can I run a College Football Playoff bracket pool with friends?+
That's the live version: start a free CFP pool on Trofeo.live, everyone fills in their bracket, results grade themselves as the games finish, and the leaderboard settles who called it. Free for groups up to 10.
Is it free?+
Completely free, no login. Fill in and print as many brackets as you like. The only optional paid step is running a pool bigger than 10 players.