The first month of the college football season comes to an end this weekend, and with it, potentially the end of the race for the Group of Six College Football Playoff spot.
Boise State goes to Kalamazoo, Michigan this weekend for a game with Western Michigan, considered to be the top two teams in the Group of Six. Boise got a challenge from South Dakota last weekend and pushed Oregon in Week 1, while WMU lost to Michigan in one of the most controversial finishes in the last two decades. Boise head coach Spencer Danielson went as far as to say this week that Western Michigan is “unbeaten” despite the result against the Wolverines.
Boise State will be favored in the rest of their games, so if the Broncos are able to win on the road Saturday, their pathway to the CFP may be paved in blue and orange, no matter what James Madison, North Dakota State, New Mexico or anyone else would do.
This year, the CFP changed its format where now the highest RANKED Group of Six team will get the automatic bid to the playoff. In the past two years, the five highest-ranked conference champions made it into the playoff, that’s how James Madison and Tulane qualified last year and how Boise State made it in 2024.
Here’s my weekly ballot that I will put together on the top 25 Group of Six teams, made up exclusively from the American, Conference USA, PAC-12, Mountain West, Sun Belt and Mid-American Conferences.
The College Football Playoff has a new format for determining its Group of Six team in the 2026 tournament.
WDAY Sports
The rankings are determined by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, the first of those rankings comes out on Nov. 3.
1. Boise State (2-1, beat South Dakota) Previous: 1
2. New Mexico (2-1, lost to Oklahoma) Previous: 2
3. James Madison (3-0, beat San Diego St) Previous: 3
4. Western Michigan (2-1, beat Rice) Previous: 4
5. Memphis (3-1, beat UT Martin) Previous: 4
6. NDSU (4-0, beat Sacramento State) Previous: 7
7. South Florida (3-0, beat Delaware State) Previous: 8
8. UTSA (2-1, lost to Texas) Previous: 6
9. Tulsa (3-0, beat East Texas A&M) Previous: 9
10. Florida Atlantic (2-1, beat Florida Int.) Previous: 14
11. Appalachian State (3-0, beat Charlotte) Previous: 17
12. Tulane (1-2, lost to Kansas State) Previous: 12
13. San Diego State (1-2, lost to James Madison) Previous: 11
14. Navy (1-1, bye week) Previous: 15
15. Army (1-1, bye week) Previous: 16
16. Fresno State (2-1, beat San Jose State) Previous: 18
17. Texas State (1-2, beat North Texas) Previous: NR
18. North Texas (1-2, lost to Texas State) Previous: 10
19. UMass (3-0, beat Stonehill) Previous: 20
20. Toledo (2-1, beat Temple) Previous: 25
21. Delaware (2-1, beat Coastal Carolina) Previous: 23
22. Colorado State (2-1, lost to BYU) Previous: 19
23. South Alabama (2-1, beat Ohio) Previous: NR
24. Louisiana (2-1, beat UAB) Previous: NR
25. Georgia State (2-1, lost to UCF) Previous: 23
Dropped out: Old Dominion, UNLV, Troy