2022 season

131 teams across 5 tiers

National champion
USCfrom Tier 2
Biggest riser (2022 tiers)
USC▲ 1 tier
Biggest faller
Michigan 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.

Premier42 pts
Georgia
13-0 · +343 diff
Tier 236 pts
USC
11-2 · +171 diff
Tier 342 pts
TCU
12-1 · +199 diff
Tier 431 pts
Oregon State
9-3 · +132 diff
Tier 534 pts
Tulane
11-2 · +192 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
1Georgia13042
2Ohio State11138
3Michigan13037
4Clemson11233
5Utah10331
6Oregon9330
7Alabama10229
8Penn State10229
9LSU9428
10Texas8426
11UCLA9325
12Notre Dame8425
13Oklahoma State7522
14Boise State9420
15Cincinnati9320
16Iowa7520
17Florida6619
18Oklahoma6616
19Texas A&M5714
20Wisconsin6613
Relegation Zone
21Michigan State5712Relegated
22Miami (FL)5712Relegated
23Auburn5712Relegated
24Iowa State4811Survived

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: USC.

Round 1
simulated
Penn State20
USC36
simulated
Utah52
Florida State34
simulated
Alabama20
Kansas State30
simulated
Oregon32
TCU39
Quarterfinal
simulated
Georgia18
USC20
simulated
Clemson24
Utah46
simulated
Ohio State20
Kansas State32
simulated
Michigan29
TCU20
Semifinal
simulated
USC35
Utah24
simulated
Kansas State16
Michigan25
Championship
simulated
USC27
Michigan25

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
Washington33
Mississippi State23
simulated
Pittsburgh31
North Carolina40
Final
simulated
Washington25
North Carolina38
Tier 3→ up to Tier 2
Semifinal
simulated
Tennessee27
Ole Miss32
simulated
Texas Tech29
Duke24
Final
simulated
Ole Miss31
Texas Tech41
Tier 4→ up to Tier 3
Semifinal
simulated
Syracuse28
Arizona33
simulated
Maryland32
UTSA28
Final
simulated
Arizona33
Maryland34
Tier 5→ up to Tier 4
Semifinal
simulated
Troy26
Vanderbilt22
simulated
Liberty33
South Alabama30
Final
simulated
Troy30
Liberty17

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: Iowa State
Semifinal
simulated
Michigan State6
Iowa State29
simulated
Miami (FL)24
Auburn21
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
Iowa State32
Miami (FL)21
Tier 2bottom 4 · survivor: Northwestern
Semifinal
simulated
Stanford7
Northwestern17
simulated
Arizona State22
Virginia Tech26
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
Northwestern22
Virginia Tech4
Tier 3bottom 4 · survivor: Virginia
Semifinal
simulated
Virginia29
Nevada28
simulated
Louisiana Tech25
Colorado39
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
Virginia34
Colorado11
Tier 4bottom 4 · survivor: Hawaii
Semifinal
simulated
Buffalo39
South Florida19
simulated
Hawaii28
Temple12
Survival Final· winner stays up
simulated
Buffalo22
Hawaii26

2023 starting tiers

Cascade from 2022: promoted teams move up, relegated teams move down, and FBS membership is reconciled against CFBD's roster for the next year.

Premier24
  1. Georgia1
  2. Ohio State2
  3. Michigan3
  4. USC4
  5. Clemson5
  6. Kansas State6
  7. Utah7
  8. Oregon8
  9. Alabama9
  10. Penn State10
  11. LSU11
  12. Texas12
  13. UCLA13
  14. Notre Dame14
  15. North Carolina15
  16. Oklahoma State16
  17. Boise State17
  18. Cincinnati18
  19. Iowa19
  20. Florida20
  21. Oklahoma21
  22. Texas A&M22
  23. Wisconsin23
  24. Iowa State24
Tier 224
  1. TCU1
  2. Florida State2
  3. Washington3
  4. Pittsburgh4
  5. Texas Tech5
  6. Mississippi State6
  7. Minnesota7
  8. UCF8
  9. Louisville9
  10. NC State10
  11. Washington State11
  12. South Carolina12
  13. BYU13
  14. Air Force14
  15. West Virginia15
  16. Houston16
  17. Baylor17
  18. San Diego State18
  19. Michigan State19
  20. Miami (FL)20
  21. Auburn21
  22. Memphis22
  23. Tulsa23
  24. Northwestern24
Tier 326
  1. Oregon State1
  2. Tennessee2
  3. Illinois3
  4. Duke4
  5. Ole Miss5
  6. Arkansas6
  7. Fresno State7
  8. Kentucky8
  9. Purdue9
  10. Maryland10
  11. SMU11
  12. East Carolina12
  13. Georgia Tech13
  14. Missouri14
  15. Marshall15
  16. Toledo16
  17. Navy17
  18. Stanford18
  19. Nebraska19
  20. Boston College20
  21. California21
  22. Arizona State22
  23. Western Michigan23
  24. Virginia Tech24
  25. Northern Illinois25
  26. Virginia26
Tier 425
  1. Tulane1
  2. Kansas2
  3. Syracuse3
  4. Troy4
  5. UTSA5
  6. Arizona6
  7. Ohio7
  8. Coastal Carolina8
  9. Wyoming9
  10. Wake Forest10
  11. San Jose State11
  12. Western Kentucky12
  13. Middle Tennessee13
  14. Indiana14
  15. App State15
  16. UAB16
  17. Utah State17
  18. Louisiana-Lafayette18
  19. Army19
  20. Southern Miss20
  21. Florida Atlantic21
  22. Hawaii22
  23. Louisiana Tech23
  24. Colorado24
  25. Nevada25
Tier 532
  1. Liberty1
  2. South Alabama2
  3. Vanderbilt3
  4. Eastern Michigan4
  5. James Madison5
  6. North Texas6
  7. Miami (OH)7
  8. UTEP8
  9. UConn9
  10. Bowling Green10
  11. Georgia Southern11
  12. Rice12
  13. UNLV13
  14. Old Dominion14
  15. Rutgers15
  16. Kent State16
  17. Georgia State17
  18. Central Michigan18
  19. Ball State19
  20. Buffalo20
  21. New Mexico State21
  22. Florida International22
  23. Texas State23
  24. Louisiana-Monroe24
  25. Temple25
  26. Akron26
  27. Colorado State27
  28. Arkansas State28
  29. Charlotte29
  30. New Mexico30
  31. South Florida31
  32. Massachusetts32