This is the second season the CFP is a 12-team bracket. Play will open with team seeded fifth through eighth hosting a first-round game on campus. The lowest-four seeds will be the visitors in the those matchups. The top four seeds earned first-round bye into to the national quarterfinals, which will be played New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

The College Football Playoff run begins on Friday when SEC powers Alabama and Oklahoma get together for the second time this season. The Sooners won the first meeting in Tuscaloosa. ESPN will provide the announcers for all four games but two of them will be on TNT/truTV.

It's Saturday during the college football season and that normally means the Ohio State Buckeyes are in action. But what does the schedule say today?

Ohio State didn't fall far. The Buckeyes, looking to defend their 2024 national championship, landed at No. 2, followed by SEC champion Georgia at No. 3 and Big 12 champion Texas Tech at No. 4. Those four teams earn opening-round byes.

Who does Georgia play in College Football Playoff? When does it play? What to know about Bulldogs' first CFP game, including date, location, opponent.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/fannation/college/cfb-hq as Five SEC teams facing the toughest 2026 college football schedules. There is still plenty of college football remaining on the schedule this year. Bowl season is kicking off this weekend, and the playoffs are right around the corner.

The SEC is moving to a nine-game league schedule next season for the first time in history, a move necessary in the expanded College Football Playoff era to mirror what it looks like in the Big Ten and Big 12.