2018 season

130 teams across 5 tiers

National champion
Notre Damefrom Premier
Biggest riser (2018 tiers)
Michigan▲ 1 tier
Biggest faller
Oklahoma State▼ 1 tier

Biggest movers

Teams with the largest tier change after promotions and relegations.

▲ Risers
▼ Fallers

Regular season champions

Tier winners — the top finisher in each tier on points, before any promotion playoff or main-playoff games.

Premier46 pts
Alabama
13-0 · +430 diff
Tier 236 pts
Michigan
10-2 · +231 diff
Tier 323 pts
Iowa State
8-4 · +52 diff
Tier 428 pts
Fresno State
11-2 · +276 diff
Tier 517 pts
Buffalo
10-3 · +131 diff

Tier standings

Final regular-season standings. Promoted rows tinted green, relegated rows tinted red, survival winners tinted amber.

Premier24 teams
TeamⓘStatus
Playoff Zone
1Alabama13046
2Notre Dame12042
3Clemson13041
4Oklahoma12141
5Ohio State12139
6Texas9433
7Georgia11231
8LSU9329
9Washington State10227
10Penn State9326
11Stanford8426
12West Virginia8325
13Boise State10322
14Oregon8420
15Texas A&M8420
16Wisconsin7520
17Michigan State7520
18Iowa8419
19Auburn7519
20TCU6618
Relegation Zone
21Oklahoma State6617Relegated
22Florida State5714Relegated
23USC5713Survived
24Louisville2102Relegated

Main playoff

Twelve-team championship bracket: top 8 from Premier (seeds 1–8), top 2 from Tier 2 (seeds 9–10), top 2 from Tier 3 (seeds 11–12). Seeds 1–4 receive first-round byes. Champion: Notre Dame.

Round 1
simulated
LSU24
Michigan37
simulated
Ohio State44
Cincinnati21
simulated
Georgia23
Washington26
simulated
Texas28
Iowa State26
Quarterfinal
simulated
Alabama40
Michigan37
simulated
Oklahoma18
Ohio State45
simulated
Notre Dame18
Washington15
simulated
Clemson39
Texas13
Semifinal
simulated
Alabama33
Ohio State32
simulated
Notre Dame40
Clemson31
Championship
simulated
Alabama34
Notre Dame37

Promotion playoffs

Each lower tier sends two teams up automatically (ranks 1 and 2); ranks 3–6 contest a single-elimination playoff for the third promotion spot.

Tier 2→ up to Premier
Semifinal
simulated
UCF33
NC State25
simulated
Utah23
Northwestern27
Final
simulated
UCF23
Northwestern29
Tier 3→ up to Tier 2
Semifinal
simulated
Temple32
Duke35
simulated
Georgia Tech50
Purdue36
Final
simulated
Duke25
Georgia Tech28
Tier 4→ up to Tier 3
Semifinal
simulated
Kentucky34
Minnesota33
simulated
Virginia16
Utah State24
Final
simulated
Kentucky21
Utah State38
Tier 5→ up to Tier 4
Semifinal
simulated
Hawaii49
North Texas34
simulated
UAB30
Army14
Final
simulated
Hawaii22
UAB37

Relegation playoffs

Bottom 4 of each upper tier play a survival bracket. The Survival Final winner stays up; the other three drop down.

Premierbottom 4 · survivor: USC
Semifinal
simulated
Oklahoma State36
Louisville38
simulated
Florida State34
USC37
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
Louisville23
USC38
Tier 2bottom 4 · survivor: East Carolina
Semifinal
simulated
Nebraska26
North Carolina24
simulated
Ole Miss31
East Carolina43
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
Nebraska26
East Carolina29
Tier 3bottom 4 · survivor: Tulsa
Semifinal
simulated
Navy38
Rutgers23
simulated
Tulsa27
Arkansas17
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
Navy25
Tulsa40
Tier 4bottom 4 · survivor: Western Kentucky
Semifinal
simulated
Western Kentucky31
San Jose State28
simulated
Central Michigan36
UConn18
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
Western Kentucky27
Central Michigan14

2019 starting tiers

Cascade from 2018: promoted teams move up, relegated teams move down, and FBS membership is reconciled against CFBD's roster for the next year.

Premier24
  1. Alabama1
  2. Notre Dame2
  3. Clemson3
  4. Oklahoma4
  5. Ohio State5
  6. Michigan6
  7. Texas7
  8. Washington8
  9. Georgia9
  10. LSU10
  11. Northwestern11
  12. Washington State12
  13. Penn State13
  14. Stanford14
  15. West Virginia15
  16. Boise State16
  17. Oregon17
  18. Texas A&M18
  19. Wisconsin19
  20. Michigan State20
  21. Iowa21
  22. Auburn22
  23. TCU23
  24. USC24
Tier 224
  1. UCF1
  2. Utah2
  3. NC State3
  4. Florida4
  5. Mississippi State5
  6. Arizona State6
  7. Iowa State7
  8. Cincinnati8
  9. Miami (FL)9
  10. Missouri10
  11. Georgia Tech11
  12. Houston12
  13. Oklahoma State13
  14. San Diego State14
  15. Virginia Tech15
  16. South Carolina16
  17. Pittsburgh17
  18. Northern Illinois18
  19. Baylor19
  20. Florida State20
  21. UCLA21
  22. Kansas State22
  23. East Carolina23
  24. Louisville24
Tier 326
  1. Fresno State1
  2. Syracuse2
  3. Temple3
  4. Purdue4
  5. Duke5
  6. Boston College6
  7. California7
  8. Utah State8
  9. Memphis9
  10. Texas Tech10
  11. Vanderbilt11
  12. South Florida12
  13. Nevada13
  14. Maryland14
  15. Toledo15
  16. BYU16
  17. Western Michigan17
  18. Arizona18
  19. Marshall19
  20. Air Force20
  21. Tennessee21
  22. Nebraska22
  23. Ole Miss23
  24. Louisiana Tech24
  25. Tulsa25
  26. North Carolina26
Tier 425
  1. Kentucky1
  2. Virginia2
  3. Buffalo3
  4. Tulane4
  5. Minnesota5
  6. Colorado6
  7. Wake Forest7
  8. UAB8
  9. Middle Tennessee9
  10. App State10
  11. Ohio11
  12. Arkansas State12
  13. Wyoming13
  14. Indiana14
  15. SMU15
  16. Southern Miss16
  17. UNLV17
  18. Old Dominion18
  19. Navy19
  20. Colorado State20
  21. New Mexico21
  22. Arkansas22
  23. Bowling Green23
  24. Western Kentucky24
  25. Rutgers25
Tier 531
  1. Hawaii1
  2. Army2
  3. North Texas3
  4. Troy4
  5. Eastern Michigan5
  6. Miami (OH)6
  7. Florida International7
  8. Georgia Southern8
  9. Florida Atlantic9
  10. Louisiana-Lafayette10
  11. Charlotte11
  12. Kansas12
  13. Akron13
  14. Liberty14
  15. Louisiana-Monroe15
  16. Ball State16
  17. Illinois17
  18. Coastal Carolina18
  19. Massachusetts19
  20. UTSA20
  21. Texas State21
  22. Kent State22
  23. South Alabama23
  24. New Mexico State24
  25. Rice25
  26. Oregon State26
  27. Georgia State27
  28. Central Michigan28
  29. UConn29
  30. San Jose State30
  31. UTEP31