24-Team College Football Playoff Preview: LSU at Texas Tech, Ohio State at Wake Forest – Yahoo Sports

  • November 11, 2026

With the 24-team College Football Playoff officially scheduled for the upcoming year, it’s certainly not premature to begin contemplating how that expanded structure will appear.

At present, the leading four teams in the 12-team playoff benefit from a first-round bye, while teams ranked Nos. 5 through 12 compete against one another in a series of four first-round games. However, starting in 2027, the top eight seeds will receive a bye, and teams ranked Nos. 9 to 24 will face off in eight first-round matchups.

Even though the playoff field is expanding, the Group of Six does not automatically secure additional representation. Only one of the 23 slots is allocated for a champion from a Group of Six conference. Therefore, any other G6 squad will need to qualify as an at-large team.

Here is a look at a hypothetical 24-team playoff based on the second set of College Football Playoff rankings from the 2026 season released on Tuesday.

No. 1 Georgia would play No. 17 South Carolina or No. 16 Oregon. No. 8 Tennessee would play No. 24 Boise State or No. 9 Indiana, No. 4 UCLA would play No. 20 Ohio State or No. 13 Wake Forest, No. 5 Notre Dame would play No. 21 LSU or No. 12 Texas Tech. No. 2 Utah would play No. 18 USC or No. 15 Iowa. No. 7 Miami would play No. 23 Arizona or No. 10 BYU. No. 3 Alabama would play No. 19 Ole Miss or No. 14 Houston. No. 6 Texas would play No. 22 Missouri or No. 11 Kentucky.

This depicts the second week of 2026 CFP rankings visualized as a 24-team bracket. (Yahoo Sports)

The leading candidates for this distinction would be a No. 21 LSU matchup against No. 12 Texas Tech or a No. 19 Ole Miss contest versus No. 14 Houston. Each game promises to be packed with scoring potential, and witnessing SEC teams compete in Big 12 venues would certainly be intriguing.

To be completely candid, there isn’t a second-round game that particularly stands out from the others at this moment. South Carolina is scheduled to clash with Georgia in Week 12, setting up a possible rematch. Additionally, an LSU visit to South Bend for a face-off against Notre Dame would be captivating, while a USC versus Utah matchup would rekindle a historic Pac-12 rivalry.