How to Run a Bowl Pool or College Football Playoff Pool (2026–27)
Set up a bowl pick'em or College Football Playoff pool before Selection Day on December 6, 2026: the formats, the rules to decide, the key dates and how scoring works.
Updated
To run a bowl pool, create a Bowl Pick'em pool (every bowl game and every College Football Playoff game on one sheet) or a CFP pool (just the 11 playoff games) before Selection Day on Sunday, December 6, 2026, share the invite link, and let members pick as the matchups are announced. On PikSheet every game is graded as it goes final and standings update automatically.
When are the 2026–27 bowl games and College Football Playoff?
- Selection Day: Sunday, December 6, 2026. The 12-team bracket and the bowl matchups are announced, and picks open.
- First round: December 18–19, 2026, at campus sites.
- Quarterfinals: December 30, 2026 (Fiesta Bowl) and January 1, 2027.
- Semifinals: January 14, 2027 (Orange Bowl) and January 15, 2027 (Sugar Bowl).
- National championship: Monday, January 25, 2027, at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Playoff dates: National Football Post, from the CFP's 2026–27 broadcast schedule.
Which bowl pool format should I pick?
Pick one sheet for the whole postseason, or a pool that's just the playoff. You can also run two: a Bowl Pick'em for everyone plus a CFP Bracket for the die-hards.
| Format | Games | How members pick | Scoring | Locks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowl Pick'em | 47: 36 bowls and 11 playoff games | Winner, spread or both, with the total as an option | 1 point per bowl pick; playoff rounds ×1, ×2, ×3, ×4 by default | Each game at its kickoff |
| CFP Pick'em | 11 playoff games | Round by round as matchups are set; winner, spread or both | Playoff rounds ×1, ×2, ×3, ×4 by default | Each round at its first game, or each game |
| CFP Bracket | 11 playoff games | All at once, before the first round, straight up | 1, 2, 4 and 8 points by round | Once, at the first-round kickoff on December 18 |
| CFP Power Ranking | All 12 playoff teams | Rank every team once, before the first round | Each team earns its rank for every game it wins | Once, at the first-round kickoff on December 18 |
| CFP Survivor | One team per round | Straight up by default, or against posted CFP lines | A wrong or missed pick adds a strike (1–5 strikes) | Each game at its kickoff |
How do I set up a bowl pool?
- Create the pool at piksheet.com/create and choose College Football, then the format.
- Set the rules: pick types (winner, spread or both, plus totals), how pushes count, and points for each playoff round.
- Share the invite link before Selection Day. Picks open on December 6 as the matchups are announced, and members get a reminder when new games are ready.
What rules should I decide before Selection Day?
- Straight up or against the spread. Lines come from the sportsbook and are set once, when a game opens for picks, so everyone picks against the same number.
- Pushes: count as nothing (the default), as a win or as a loss.
- Round points: how much more a playoff pick is worth each round. The commissioner can set any round from ×1 to ×10.
- Tiebreaker: total points in the national championship, always on in Bowl Pick'em.
- Entries per member, and the entry fee you'll collect yourself. PikSheet never touches entry fees or prize money.
How does the 12-team College Football Playoff work?
Twelve teams make the playoff. The top four seeds get first-round byes, seeds 5–12 play first-round games on campus, and the winners advance through the quarterfinals and semifinals to the national championship. That's 11 games, which is why every CFP format above has 11 picks (or 12 teams to rank).
How much does a bowl pool cost on PikSheet?
Bowl and CFP pools are priced like any competitive pool: $1.00 per billable entry for a competitive pool's first 25 entries, $0.75 for the next 50 and $0.50 after that, per season; Box pools are billed by covered game and cap at $30. For example, a 25-entry pool is $25.00 for the season and a 50-entry pool is $43.75. Full details: pricing.
Start a pool on PikSheet
PikSheet runs pools for every major sport — football (NFL and college), basketball (NBA), baseball (MLB), hockey (NHL) and golf (PGA TOUR and the majors) — with auto-scoring on the web, iOS and Android.
- Go to piksheet.com/create and sign in or create an account.
- Pick a sport and a pool format, then set your rules.
- Share your pool's invite link. Members join on the web or in the iOS and Android apps.
Pricing: a competitive pool costs $1.00 per billable entry (a pick sheet that reaches its first locked week) for its first 25 entries each season. Full pricing: piksheet.com/pricing.
Run a Bowl Pick'em pool without the spreadsheet
The whole college football postseason on one sheet: all 36 bowl games and the 11 College Football Playoff games, with more points for each playoff round. PikSheet handles picks, locks, scoring, and standings automatically.