Athlon Sports predicts the 2026-27 college football (CFB) playoff (PO) field.

https://athlonsports.com/college-football/playoff-12-team-preseason-projections-predictions-2026

Forum Friend Stevan A. posted this article that was reposted by Sports Illustrated in an article with the lede: Oregon Fans Will Love This Prediction.

Are you whipping me? Athlon again predicts that five SEC teams will be in the 12-team PO field and that Oregon will again be knocked out by Texas in Arlington, Texas, in the PO semifinals.

Why, especially with the championship being played in the Pacific time zone for the only time under the current format, would Oregon fans be pleased with a 2025 re-run?

With the talent on both sides of the ball Oregon brings back in 2026, this OBD fan finds the Athlon predictions and the Sports Illustrated article offensive; another semifinal loss would be a Duck treading water.

Five SEC teams in the field with the SEC going to nine conference games? After an unworthy 3-loss Bama team and an unworthy Oklahoma made the field last season?

A loss in a conference champ game should not eliminate a team from PO contention. Using this criterion, 3-loss Bama made the field and not 2-loss BYU.

BYU lost twice to a PO team, Texas Tech; one of Bama's losses came against a bad Florida State team, and Georgia avenged its regular-season loss to the Tide and decisively defeated Bama in the SEC conference champ game.

3-loss Texas deserved a spot in the PO instead of an Oklahoma team the Longhorns defeated 23-6. Alabama's 1st-round PO win at Oklahoma was illusory, as evidenced by Bama suffering a historic Rose Bowl humiliation.

Notwithstanding the Big Ten winning the last three PO titles, and Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan defeating Greg Sankey's PO-worthy SEC teams in 2024 and 2025 bowl games, played with few opt-outs except for Michigan defenders in 2024 when Michigan defeated Bama, the middle of the SEC continues to be preseason ranked well above the middle of the B1G.

Athlon, with its headquarters in Nashville, has delivered another SEC-centric PO projection. Athlon is far from the only site to favor the middle of the SEC over the center of the Big Ten.

Who cares except for the fact that the PO committee does the same when seeding the PO field? However, no one knows the voodoo practiced by the Grapevine Gurus behind closed doors.

Notwithstanding ESPN and Bill Connelly's SP+ 2026 preseason rankings that have Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana respectively ranked 1st, 2nd, and 5th, the SEC dominates the top of the rankings with 13 of its 16 teams ranked in the SP+ top 31; the Big Ten has eight of 18 teams ranked in the top 31.

Illinois is ranked 32nd, behind 16 Tennessee and 25 South Carolina teams the Illini defeated in the last two postseasons, including last season's win over the Vols in Nashville.

While still hoping to find a life (😁), I totaled the SP+ team rankings and strength-of-schedule rankings for the Power Four conferences to determine the average team and SOS rankings.

ACC - Rankings - 44.70/ SOS 48.47.

B12 - Rankings - 44.25/ SOS 50.93

B1G - Rankings - 35.11/ SOS 25.16

SEC - Rankings - 22.25/ SOS 12.18

Georgia, with an SOS of 25, has the lowest SOS ranking in the SEC. Thus, every 2026 SEC team in the preseason plays (in a stentorian voice) 'A Gauntlet Not Faced by Teams in the Lesser Conferences; The Schedules Just Mean More! Teams like Illinois and Iowa would be fortunate to win five conference games in the SEC!'

All righty then. However, we don't see these results when the teams meet on the field of play.

And in my opinion, Tony Petitti, in not whining over 3-loss Big Ten teams not making the PO, holds the high ground, and many who laughed at Tony's 24-team PO proposal, except for ESPN and Grag Sankey, have come around to the B1G point of view.

To reiterate, Oregon fans will not be pleased if Oregon loses a semifinal game against Texas in Arlington, Texas. It's condescending to suggest that a semifinal loss is all that Ducks fans expect.

Steve Sarkisian's team qualified for one 12-team PO appearance; his PO record is 2-1. Dan Lanning is 2-2. Ryan Day is 4-1 with a title. Curt Cignetti is 3-1 with a title.

Kirby Smart is 0-2. No SEC coach has more than two PO wins.

On the way to winning it all in Las Vegas, start with a win over Boise State!

FYI, below are the SP+ rankings for B1G vs SEC in 2026.

No. 1 Ohio State at No. 6 Texas. No. 12 Oklahoma at No. 14 Michigan. No. 52 Mississippi State at No. 45 Minnesota.

Rankings for Oregon's out-of-conference opponents and a few other top contenders for the 2026-27 title.

Boise State - No. 38 / SOS 73 - Boise is the highest-ranked G6 team.

Oklahoma State - No. 39 / SOS also 39. Week 2 is the home opener for the Cowboys.

Notre Dame - No.3 / SOS 62 ... Miami - No. 8 / SOS 49 ... Louisville -No. 27 / SOS 60 ... Texas Tech - No. 7 / SOS 71, in a PO field with 68 FBS teams ... BYU No. 53 / SOS 53

But it's an even playing field, right? 🤪

Sorry, Pawall, but the middle of my conference can beat the middle of your conference.

FPI 7/12 - Seven B1G and 12 SEC teams, 75% of the SEC conference, in the FPI preseason top 25

On3

College Football Rankings: ESPN releases preseason FPI ah...

ESPN has officially released its preseason FPI power rankings on Thursday ahead of the 2026 college football season.

Phil Steele's Top 25

On3

Phil Steele releases 2026 preseason poll, ranking all col...

Phil Steele has released his 2026 preseason poll as he ranked all teams in college football from No. 1 to 138.