The first College Football Playoff rankings of 2026 arrive Tuesday night, and the projection industry is in full swing. CBS Sports forecasts Miami atop the initial top 25, with a new metric potentially pushing a surprise SEC contender into the top four — the kind of committee wrinkle that fuels a week of arguments.

The stakes extend across the bracket picture. Yahoo Sports ran playoff probabilities for Georgia, Utah, Miami and others ahead of the release, noting the timing is ideal: Week 10 brings one of the deepest slates of the season, so the first rankings will be stress-tested almost immediately. Projection pieces also game out where LSU and Notre Dame will debut after a chaotic season to date.

Before the rankings drop, Tuesday belongs to MACtion. SportsLine's model released its best bets for Buffalo vs. Miami (Ohio) and Ohio vs. Akron, the Week 10 midweek appetizers. By night's end, the sport will have its first official playoff hierarchy — and 25 fan bases with opinions about it.