Help · Pool types
How CFP Survivor works
Choose one College Football Playoff team each round. A wrong pick or a missed pick adds a strike; an against-the-spread push adds one when ATS is on. The top four seeds have first-round byes, and the pool ends with shared winners or an early finish when the field is down to one entry.
Rules
Picks and strikes
- Pick one team in each CFP round by default. A wrong pick or a missed pick adds one strike. With against-the-spread picks, a push also adds one. One strike is the default, and the commissioner can set one to five.
- The commissioner can have members pick winners (the default) or losers. The top four seeds have first-round byes, so they cannot be picked in that round.
- The commissioner can require two picks in the First Round, Quarterfinals or Semifinals. The one-game Championship always stays at one pick.
Teams, lines and locks
- Team reuse is off by default. The commissioner can allow an entry to pick any team again in a later round.
- Straight up is the default. The commissioner can turn on ATS using posted CFP lines; a push is a strike.
- Each pick locks at its own game's start and stays hidden from other members until then. Members can join until the First Round ends. A missed pick in any round, including the First Round, adds a strike; late joiners can still pick any First Round game that has not started.
Winners and revives
- There is no tiebreaker. Entries alive at the end share the win; if every remaining entry is eliminated in the same round, they share it too.
- The pool ends early when one or zero entries remain after a fully played round. Before the Championship is complete, the commissioner can revive everyone eliminated in the latest round.
- Survivor rules can change until the first game starts. Team reuse and picks per round lock as soon as anyone saves a pick.
A two-round example from the 2025–26 playoff
Ava and Blair survive the First Round while Casey's Texas A&M pick earns a strike. In the Quarterfinals, Blair picks Indiana and is the only entry still alive after the round.
| Member | Pick | Game | Final | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ava | Miami | Miami at Texas A&M | Miami 10–3 Texas A&M | Won; remains alive. |
| Blair | Alabama | Alabama at Oklahoma | Alabama 34–24 Oklahoma | Won; remains alive. |
| Casey | Texas A&M | Texas A&M vs Miami | Miami 10–3 Texas A&M | Lost; one strike and eliminated. |
| Member | Pick | Game | Final | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ava | Ohio State | Ohio State vs Miami | Miami 24–14 Ohio State | Lost; one strike and eliminated. |
| Blair | Indiana | Indiana vs Alabama | Indiana 38–3 Alabama | Won; the only entry left after the round. |
Settings lock. Pool name, fee, member caps and CFP Survivor rules stay editable until the first game starts. Team reuse and picks per round lock as soon as anyone saves a pick.
The example uses final scores from real 2025–26 games, except March Madness, which uses the real 2026 NCAA tournament.