On September 12, 2024, the Pac-12 announced that MW members Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and San Diego State would join the Pac-12 in 2026.[1][2] On September 24, 2024, the Pac-12 announced that another MW member, Utah State, would also join alongside the four aforementioned schools in 2026.[3] This brought the new Pac-12 to seven members, one short of the number needed to preserve its status as an FBS conference.[a] On October 1, 2024, UTEP announced that it would join the Mountain West from Conference USA starting in 2026.[6] This gave the MW seven full football-sponsoring members in the 2026 season; it had to add at least one more such member no later than 2028–29 to preserve its FBS status. The needed eighth member proved to be current football-only member Hawaii. On October 14, Hawaii athletic director Craig Angelos confirmed outside reports that the school would upgrade to full MW membership in 2026.[7] The MW officially announced this move the next day.[8]
On January 7, 2025, the Mountain West added a ninth member in Mid-American Conference member Northern Illinois joining as a football-only affiliate.[9] February 2026 saw two conferences add football-only members—first the MW with 10-time FCS champion North Dakota State,[10] and then the MAC with another FCS upgrader, Sacramento State.[11]
On July 15, 2025, the Sun Belt announced its addition of Louisiana Tech for all sports no later than July 1, 2027.[12] Louisiana Tech and Conference USA are in a pending legal battle over their early departure to the Sun Belt by July 1, 2026.[13]
The following playing rule changes were approved by the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee on March 19,2026:[14]
The targeting penalty (referring to the "carryover penalty" of missing the first half of the next game) will be altered for a one-year trial:
Players disqualified for their first targeting penalty of the season (regardless of which half it occurs) will be permitted to play the entire next game with no carryover penalty.
The second targeting penalty by the same player in the same season will incur the carryover penalty unless overturned on appeal to the National Coordinator of Officials. The appeal can include both the first and second targeting penalties.
The third or subsequent targeting penalty by the same player in the same season will incur a one-game suspension unless overturned on appeal to the National Coordinator of Officials.
Also mirroring the NFL rule, offensive pass interference will become a 10 yard penalty, previously this was a 15 yard penalty.
On punts where jersey number exceptions are used (players not wearing 50-79), the snapper and two adjacent linemen on either side lined up in or touching the tackle box are ineligible receivers and become exceptions to the numbering rule when the snapper takes his position.
Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalties will focus more on taunting, interference with game administration, and celebrations found demeaning to the game or opponent.
Northwestern will open the new Ryan Field on the site of the original Ryan Field, which had been the Wildcats' home from 1926 to 2023. The Wildcats' first game in the new stadium is scheduled for October 2, 2026 against Penn State.[16]
This is planned to be the final season for South Florida at Raymond James Stadium. The university is building a new on-campus stadium and plans to open it for the 2027 season.
Kickoff games
Week 0
The Regular season will begin on Saturday August 29 with Week 0.
#Rankings from AP poll and CFP released prior to the game.
Recap of the year
Voters were divided in the first poll of the 2026 college football season.
Regular season
August-September
October
November
December
Postseason
Conference championship games
Bowl games/CFP playoff games
Top 10 matchups
Rankings through Week 8 reflect the AP poll. Rankings for Week 9 and beyond list College Football Playoff Rankings first and AP poll rankings second; teams that were not ranked in the top 10 of polls are noted.
Regular season
Date
Time
Visiting team
Home team
Site
TV
Result
Attendance
Ref.
#Rankings from AP poll and CFP released prior to the game.
Notable rivalry games
Date
Time
Visiting team
Home team
Site
TV
Result
Attendance
Ref.
#Rankings from AP poll and CFP released prior to the game.
Postseason
Conference championship games
Date
Time
Visiting team
Home team
Site
TV
Result
Attendance
Ref.
#Rankings from AP poll and CFP released prior to the game.
Bowl games/CFP playoff games
Date
Time
Visiting team
Home team
Site
TV
Result
Attendance
Ref.
#Rankings from AP poll and CFP released prior to the game.
No. 1 and No. 2 progress
WEEKS
No. 1
No. 2
Event
Date
Upsets
This section lists unranked teams defeating AP Poll-ranked during the season.
FCS teams over FBS teams
Date
Time
Visiting team
Home team
Site
TV
Result
Attendance
Ref.
#Rankings from AP poll and CFP released prior to the game.
Regular season
Date
Time
Visiting team
Home team
Site
TV
Result
Attendance
Ref.
#Rankings from AP poll and CFP released prior to the game.
Conference championship games
Date
Time
Visiting team
Home team
Site
TV
Result
Attendance
Ref.
#Rankings from AP poll and CFP released prior to the game.
Postseason (Bowl games)
Date
Time
Visiting team
Home team
Site
TV
Result
Attendance
Ref.
#Rankings from AP poll and CFP released prior to the game.
The Top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls
Preseason polls
Rank
Associated Press
Coaches' Poll
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
CFB Playoff final rankings
The College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee announced its final rankings on December 6, 2026.
The four Power Four conference champions plus the highest ranked Group of Six team, along with the seven highest ranked at-large teams, will be selected to compete in the College Football Playoff. This is a change from the 2025–26 season, when the five highest ranked conference champions earned an automatic bid regardless of what conference they were in.[citation needed] The top four ranked teams will receive a first-round bye.
This is the first year that Notre Dame would receive an automatic bid if they were ranked in the top 12 during the final rankings.
Rank
Team
W–L
Conference and standing
Bowl game
1
0–0
2
0–0
3
0–0
4
0–0
5
0–0
6
0–0
7
0–0
8
0–0
9
0–0
10
0–0
11
0–0
12
0–0
13
0–0
14
0–0
15
0–0
16
0–0
17
0–0
18
0–0
19
0–0
20
0–0
21
0–0
22
0–0
23
0–0
24
0–0
25
0–0
Unranked conference champions' bowl games
Rank
Team
W–L
Conference and standing
Bowl game
–
0–0
–
0–0
–
0–0
–
0–0
Final rankings
Rank
Associated Press
Coaches' Poll
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
Conference summaries
Rankings in this section are based on CFP rankings released prior to the games (Week 13–December 1).
Note: Clicking on a link in the Conference column will open an article about that conference's championship game, where applicable.
This will be the third year under the expanded College Football Playoff format. Under this format, the five highest-ranked conference champions will receive automatic bids, while the next seven highest-ranked teams will receive at-large bids. The top four seeds will receive first-round byes, even if they are not conference champions.[17]
Locations of the playoff games: campus site first round games (red), quarterfinals (orange), semifinals (yellow), and the national championship (green)
College Football Playoff games
Winners are listed in boldface.
After the completion of the regular season and conference championship games, seven teams had secured CFP berths: TBD champion TBD, Big Ten champion TBD, Big 12 champion TBD, SEC champion TBD, and TBD champion TBD, who qualified as the highest-ranked CFP non-AQ conference champion.
Normally, a team is required to have a .500 minimum winning percentage during the regular season to become bowl-eligible (six wins for an 11- or 12-game schedule, and seven wins for a 13-game schedule). If there are not enough winning teams to fulfill all open bowl slots, teams with losing records may be chosen to fill available bowl slots. Additionally, on the rare occasion in which a conference champion does not meet eligibility requirements, they are usually still chosen for bowl games via tie-ins for their conference.
Non-CFP bowl games
Winners are listed in boldface.
The 2026–27 bowl season will have two fewer games than the previous year, as the LA Bowl[18] and the GameAbove Sports Bowl[19] will no longer be played.
The bowl games that are not part of the College Football Playoff are:[20]
The following players were recognized as consensus All-Americans for 2026. Unanimous selections are followed by an asterisk (*).
2026 Consensus All-Americans
Name
Position
Year
University
Quarterback
Running back
Wide receiver
Tight end
Offensive Line
Defensive line
Linebacker
Defensive back
Kicker
Punter
All-purpose, return specialist
Milestones and records
Coaching changes
Preseason and in-season
This is restricted to coaching changes taking place on or after May 1, 2026, and will include any changes announced after a team's last regularly scheduled game before it's bowl game. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2026, see 2025 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching coaches
↑"Bylaw 20.02.9: Football Bowl Subdivision Conference"(PDF). 2024–25 NCAA Division I Manual. August 9, 2024. p.359. Retrieved October 6, 2024. A conference classified as a Football Bowl Subdivision conference shall be composed of at least eight full Football Bowl Subdivision members that satisfy all bowl subdivision requirements. An institution shall be included as one of the eight full Football Bowl Subdivision members only if the institution participates in the conference schedule in at least six men's and eight women's conference-sponsored sports, including men's basketball and football and three women's team sports, including women's basketball.
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