College Football Saturday: No. 1 Miami at Notre Dame Headlines Six Ranked Showdowns After First CFP Rankings
College football Saturday on Nov. 7, 2026, is the first slate played since the College Football Playoff selection committee released its initial 2026 rankings on Tuesday. It may also be the most consequential day of the regular season so far. Six games match two teams from the committee’s top 25, including No. 1 Miami at No. 11 Notre Dame in prime time. Five of the committee’s top seven teams play ranked opponents.
Here is the full ranked-vs.-ranked schedule, what is at stake for the 12-team playoff field, and what comes next.
Ranked vs. Ranked: The College Football Saturday Schedule
Rankings are from the CFP committee’s Nov. 3 release. Kickoff times are Eastern and come from published TV listings. Times and networks can change, so confirm with your local listings.
| Kickoff (ET) | Matchup | Records | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noon | No. 9 BYU at No. 3 Utah (Salt Lake City) | 7-1 / 8-0 | ABC |
| Noon | No. 7 Texas at No. 18 Missouri (Columbia) | 6-2 / 6-2 | ESPN |
| 3:30 p.m. | No. 5 Alabama at No. 14 LSU (Baton Rouge) | 6-2 / 6-2 | ABC |
| 6:15 p.m. | No. 6 Kentucky at No. 13 Tennessee (Knoxville) | 7-1 / 6-2 | ESPN |
| 7:30 p.m. | No. 2 Georgia at No. 10 Ole Miss (Oxford) | 7-1 / 6-2 | ABC |
| 7:30 p.m. | No. 1 Miami at No. 11 Notre Dame (South Bend) | 8-0 / 7-1 | NBC / Peacock |
No. 1 Miami at No. 11 Notre Dame
The headline game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Notre Dame Stadium on NBC and Peacock. Miami (8-0) is the only unbeaten team in the committee’s top two. Notre Dame (7-1) is an independent, so it has no conference title game to fall back on. The Irish need an at-large bid, which makes a home win over the No. 1 team especially valuable.
- Offense vs. defense: According to CFB Basecamp’s season data through Week 9, Miami led the country at 47.6 points per game and Notre Dame was fifth at 40.4. Notre Dame was allowing 13.4 points per game to Miami’s 17.8, and it was third nationally in turnover margin at +14.
- Quarterback play: Miami quarterback Darian Mensah set ACC records for consecutive completions in a single game (24) and across games (35) in a September win at Wake Forest, according to the team’s season record.
- Rivalry stakes: The two programs met in last season’s opener in Miami, a 27-24 Hurricanes win. This is Notre Dame’s chance to answer at home.
SEC Pileup: Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky and Texas All on the Road
No. 2 Georgia at No. 10 Ole Miss (7:30 p.m., ABC)
Georgia (7-1, 5-1 SEC) leads the conference in both scoring offense (41 points per game) and scoring defense (14.9), according to Titanquisitor’s game preview. Ole Miss (6-2, 4-2) averages more than 280 passing yards per game. The same preview notes that Georgia leads the all-time series 34-15-1. It also notes that Ole Miss has won both meetings in Oxford during the Kirby Smart era, plus last season’s Sugar Bowl, 39-34, which ended Georgia’s playoff run.
No. 5 Alabama at No. 14 LSU (3:30 p.m., ABC)
Both teams are 6-2, and a third loss would leave either one with little margin for an at-large bid. LSU quarterback Sam Leavitt threw for 388 yards and three touchdowns without a turnover in last week’s 38-17 win at Auburn. Alabama is coming off a 31-20 win over Texas A&M after a bye. Its two losses came against Georgia and Tennessee.
No. 6 Kentucky at No. 13 Tennessee (6:15 p.m., ESPN)
Kentucky’s No. 6 ranking is the highest CFP ranking in program history. The 7-1 Wildcats now go to Knoxville to face a Tennessee team whose most recent loss was 27-24 at South Carolina.
No. 7 Texas at No. 18 Missouri (Noon, ESPN)
Texas lost to Oklahoma and Florida, then won its next two games, against Ole Miss and Mississippi State (31-3). Missouri (6-2) beat Arkansas 34-10 last week.
The Holy War: No. 9 BYU at No. 3 Utah (Noon, ABC)
Unbeaten Utah (8-0) hosts BYU (7-1) at Rice-Eccles Stadium in a game with major Big 12 consequences. BYU has won the last three meetings, 26-17 in 2021, 22-21 in 2024 and 24-21 in 2025, according to CFB Basecamp. Utah averages 227 rushing yards per game, which ranks eighth nationally.
Why College Football Saturday Matters for the Playoff
The 12-team field gives byes to the four highest-ranked conference champions. The next-highest conference champions and the best at-large teams fill the remaining spots. For a full breakdown of bids and seeding, see our explainer, How the College Football Playoff Works.
- Bye contenders on the road: Miami and Georgia, two of the committee’s projected bye teams, both play ranked opponents in hostile stadiums.
- Two-loss teams at risk: Alabama, LSU, Texas, Missouri, Tennessee and Ole Miss each have two losses. Losers today fall to three, which historically makes an at-large bid much harder.
- Head-to-head evidence: The committee weighs results between ranked teams heavily. With six such games in one day, the Nov. 10 rankings could look very different.
What Comes Next
- Tuesday, Nov. 10: The committee’s second rankings air from 9 to 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN (NCAA.com schedule).
- Saturday, Nov. 14: More SEC matchups between ranked teams are on the tentative schedule, including Missouri at Georgia, Texas at LSU and Florida at Kentucky (Saturday Down South).
- Sunday, Dec. 6: The final 12-team field is revealed from noon to 3 p.m. ET.
For more on the business and policy side of the sport, read our coverage of the Protect College Sports Act.
Fact labels: Rankings, records, schedules and past results are verified against the sources linked above. Statistics credited to CFB Basecamp and Titanquisitor are those outlets’ published figures. The sections on playoff stakes are analysis. Results were not final when this article was written. Check back for scores.
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