IU football is ranked No. 4 in the first release of the 2026 College Football Playoff rankings.
The CFP Committee announced the rankings live on Tuesday evening on ESPN. If the Hoosiers can finish No. 4 or better they’ll get a first round bye.
In the first rankings IU would play the winner of Alabama and Boise State in the quarterfinals.
The Hoosiers are currently the highest-ranked team from the Big Ten. Also in the initial bracket from the league is No. 8 UCLA. Ohio State is No. 12, but bumped out by the requirement to have a Group of Six conference team.
No. 4 Indiana (8-1) returns to the field on Nov. 14 against USC. The Trojans are ranked No. 20 in the first CFP rankings.
The full initial CFP top-25 and bracket are below.
| RANK | TEAM | OVERALL
RECORD |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Miami | 8-0 |
| 2. | Georgia | 7-1 |
| 3. | Utah | 8-0 |
| 4. | Indiana | 8-1 |
| 5. | Alabama | 6-2 |
| 6. | Kentucky | 7-1 |
| 7. | Texas | 6-2 |
| 8. | UCLA | 8-0 |
| 9. | BYU | 7-1 |
| 10. | Ole Miss | 6-2 |
| 11. | Notre Dame | 7-1 |
| 12. | Ohio State | 6-2 |
| 13. | Tennessee | 6-2 |
| 14. | LSU | 6-2 |
| 15. | Texas Tech | 7-1 |
| 16. | Wake Forest | 7-1 |
| 17. | Houston | 6-2 |
| 18. | Missouri | 6-2 |
| 19. | Iowa | 6-2 |
| 20. | Southern California | 7-2 |
| 21. | South Carolina | 5-3 |
| 22. | Arizona | 6-2 |
| 23. | Oregon | 5-3 |
| 24. | Florida | 5-3 |
| 25. | Boise State | 7-1 |
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