2021 season

130 teams across 5 tiers

National champion
Alabamafrom Premier
Biggest riser (2021 tiers)
Oklahoma State▲ 1 tier
Biggest faller
USC▼ 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.

Premier44 pts
Michigan
12-1 · +281 diff
Tier 239 pts
Oklahoma State
11-2 · +180 diff
Tier 326 pts
Houston
11-2 · +212 diff
Tier 428 pts
Ole Miss
10-2 · +131 diff
Tier 525 pts
Oregon State
7-5 · +82 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
1Michigan12144
2Notre Dame11142
3Alabama12139
4Georgia12137
5Cincinnati13036
6Oklahoma10231
7Oregon10331
8Ohio State10230
9Michigan State10230
10Iowa10329
11Texas A&M8423
12Clemson9323
13Wisconsin8420
14Miami (FL)7520
15Iowa State7519
16Penn State7517
17LSU6616
18Boise State7514
19Texas5714
20Florida6613
Relegation Zone
21USC4812Relegated
22Stanford3912Relegated
23Auburn6611Survived
24Washington4810Relegated

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: Alabama.

Round 1
simulated
Ohio State43
Oklahoma State24
simulated
Cincinnati25
Minnesota13
simulated
Oregon35
Utah11
simulated
Oklahoma27
Houston36
Quarterfinal
simulated
Michigan29
Ohio State21
simulated
Georgia17
Cincinnati6
simulated
Notre Dame30
Oregon5
simulated
Alabama35
Houston20
Semifinal
simulated
Michigan31
Georgia43
simulated
Notre Dame3
Alabama34
Championship
simulated
Georgia27
Alabama41

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
Baylor23
BYU31
simulated
UCLA32
Pittsburgh18
Final
simulated
BYU28
UCLA33
Tier 3→ up to Tier 2
Semifinal
simulated
Purdue21
Air Force31
simulated
SMU29
Fresno State33
Final
simulated
Air Force29
Fresno State28
Tier 4→ up to Tier 3
Semifinal
simulated
Wake Forest34
Illinois12
simulated
Arkansas30
Utah State18
Final
simulated
Wake Forest31
Arkansas33
Tier 5→ up to Tier 4
Semifinal
simulated
Central Michigan36
Kent State40
simulated
Army47
Eastern Michigan26
Final
simulated
Kent State14
Army44

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: Auburn
Semifinal
simulated
USC40
Washington11
simulated
Stanford20
Auburn42
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
USC20
Auburn36
Tier 2bottom 4 · survivor: Northwestern
Semifinal
simulated
Missouri20
Northwestern26
simulated
Florida State18
TCU30
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
Northwestern43
TCU26
Tier 3bottom 4 · survivor: Louisiana Tech
Semifinal
simulated
Temple25
Arizona22
simulated
Louisiana Tech48
Indiana20
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
Temple11
Louisiana Tech47
Tier 4bottom 4 · survivor: Ohio
Semifinal
simulated
Tulane27
Vanderbilt32
simulated
Arkansas State23
Ohio29
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
Vanderbilt16
Ohio26

2022 starting tiers

Cascade from 2021: promoted teams move up, relegated teams move down, and FBS membership is reconciled against CFBD's roster for the next year.

Premier24
  1. Michigan1
  2. Notre Dame2
  3. Alabama3
  4. Oklahoma State4
  5. Utah5
  6. Georgia6
  7. Cincinnati7
  8. Oklahoma8
  9. UCLA9
  10. Oregon10
  11. Ohio State11
  12. Michigan State12
  13. Iowa13
  14. Texas A&M14
  15. Clemson15
  16. Wisconsin16
  17. Miami (FL)17
  18. Iowa State18
  19. Penn State19
  20. LSU20
  21. Boise State21
  22. Texas22
  23. Florida23
  24. Auburn24
Tier 224
  1. Baylor1
  2. Pittsburgh2
  3. BYU3
  4. NC State4
  5. Houston5
  6. Arizona State6
  7. San Diego State7
  8. Minnesota8
  9. Mississippi State9
  10. Washington State10
  11. UCF11
  12. Kansas State12
  13. West Virginia13
  14. Air Force14
  15. Louisville15
  16. South Carolina16
  17. Virginia Tech17
  18. North Carolina18
  19. Memphis19
  20. Tulsa20
  21. USC21
  22. Stanford22
  23. Washington23
  24. Northwestern24
Tier 326
  1. Ole Miss1
  2. Kentucky2
  3. Arkansas3
  4. Purdue4
  5. SMU5
  6. Fresno State6
  7. East Carolina7
  8. Virginia8
  9. Nevada9
  10. Boston College10
  11. Tennessee11
  12. California12
  13. Texas Tech13
  14. Western Michigan14
  15. Northern Illinois15
  16. Missouri16
  17. Florida State17
  18. Navy18
  19. TCU19
  20. Toledo20
  21. Marshall21
  22. Colorado22
  23. Georgia Tech23
  24. Nebraska24
  25. Duke25
  26. Louisiana Tech26
Tier 425
  1. Wake Forest1
  2. Oregon State2
  3. UTSA3
  4. Utah State4
  5. Illinois5
  6. App State6
  7. Louisiana-Lafayette7
  8. UAB8
  9. Coastal Carolina9
  10. Western Kentucky10
  11. Maryland11
  12. Army12
  13. Syracuse13
  14. Middle Tennessee14
  15. Wyoming15
  16. Hawaii16
  17. San Jose State17
  18. Temple18
  19. Florida Atlantic19
  20. Buffalo20
  21. Southern Miss21
  22. South Florida22
  23. Indiana23
  24. Ohio24
  25. Arizona25
Tier 531
  1. Central Michigan1
  2. Eastern Michigan2
  3. Kent State3
  4. Rutgers4
  5. Old Dominion5
  6. UTEP6
  7. Georgia State7
  8. Liberty8
  9. Ball State9
  10. Charlotte10
  11. Bowling Green11
  12. Rice12
  13. Miami (OH)13
  14. North Texas14
  15. South Alabama15
  16. Troy16
  17. Kansas17
  18. Colorado State18
  19. Georgia Southern19
  20. Louisiana-Monroe20
  21. New Mexico21
  22. Tulane22
  23. Texas State23
  24. Arkansas State24
  25. New Mexico State25
  26. Akron26
  27. UNLV27
  28. Florida International28
  29. Vanderbilt29
  30. UConn30
  31. Massachusetts31