UCLA’s place in the first 2026 College Football Playoff rankings turned heads, and not in a good way for the Bruins.
The committee put UCLA at No. 8 on Tuesday, a slot that felt awfully low considering the teams hovering around them. Three squads that were behind the Bruins in this week’s Top 25 polls landed ahead of them in the CFP rankings, including two teams with two losses. That’s the kind of placement that makes the early rankings feel more like a conversation starter than a final judgment.
There is still time for UCLA to change the picture, though. With a little over a month left, the Bruins can still reshape their path if they keep stacking wins.
If UCLA wins out, it would earn the top seed for the Big Ten Championship Game and would likely face either Ohio State or Indiana. Add a Big Ten title to the resume, and the Bruins should move into the Top Four.
As Coach Chesney keeps saying, the formula is simple: keep doing what got them here. The next five weeks will decide how this all shakes out. And honestly, there’s an argument that being ranked highest after the Big Ten Championship Game matters more than being up there right now anyway.
At the top of the rankings, Miami checked in at No. 1, with Georgia at No. 2 and Utah at No. 3.
Indiana landed at No. 4.
Then the board got messy. Alabama, sitting at 6-2, came in at No. 5, followed by 7-1 Kentucky and then Texas at No. 7 despite its 6-2 record.
If the CFP bracket were set today, the last four spots would belong to BYU, Ole Miss, Notre Dame and Boise State. Boise State would also jump to the top of the Group of Six race, moving past 12th-ranked Ohio State after sitting at No. 25 previously.
UCLA’s next test comes Saturday, November 7, against Minnesota at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Kickoff is set for 9:00 am PT, and Fox will carry the game with Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt on the call.
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UCLA Just Got A Surprising CFP Ranking Boost From RG3
Robert Griffin III took a swing at the College Football Playoff selection committees first 2026 rankings, and UCLA came out looking a lot better in his version. Griffin posted his own top 25 after the committee unveiled its list, and his board pushed the Bruins up alongside a few other teams he clearly believes were undersold, while leaving out some of the usual heavyweights the committee included.
For UCLA, the contrast matters because the Bruins are still trying to make sense of where they sit in the national picture after Nico Iamaleavas season-ending knee injury. The committee chair defended the initial rankings by pointing to quality wins and strength of schedule, but Griffins alternate list suggests there is still room for debate, and plenty of room for UCLA to keep climbing if it keeps stacking results. [Read more 🡒]
UCLAs Playoff Push Now Hinges On One Brutal Stretch Ahead
UCLA entered the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2026 season with a top-10 spot, landing at No. 8 and giving the Bruins another sign that their unbeaten start has them firmly in the national picture. The committees opening board was a reminder that the margin for error is thin, especially for a team still trying to build a playoff rsum while the rest of the country keeps sorting itself out.
Bob Chesney didnt sound interested in parsing the outside view, and that fits the way the Bruins have handled the season so far. He brushed aside the ranking talk and steered the focus back to performance, which is where UCLAs attention has to stay with a demanding stretch still ahead and every game carrying more weight than the last. [Read more 🡒]
UCLAs Unbeaten Run Faces Its Toughest Big Ten Test Yet
Undefeated and still sitting at No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings, UCLA heads into a Big Ten road test with a different kind of pressure attached. The Bruins have kept winning through the first stretch of the season, but the next challenge comes against Minnesota, a conference opponent that has plenty of incentive to make this one uncomfortable.
The matchup also continues to ask more of UCLAs quarterback room after Nico Iamaleavas season-ending injury, with Ty Dieffenbach set for his fourth start. Minnesota, meanwhile, is trying to steady itself after an overtime loss to Indiana and a win over Iowa, with bowl eligibility still within reach. For UCLA, it is another chance to protect an unbeaten run, but also one more week of proving this version of the Bruins can keep absorbing the kind of hits that change a season. [Read more 🡒]