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Nevada playoff odds

Nevada makes the College Football Playoff in <0.1% of 2.5 million simulated 2026 seasons. Loading the week 11 guide…

Nevada playoff odds and who to root for

Updated November 8, after week 9.

Nevada is 3-6 (2-3 in the Mountain West) through week 9 of the 2026 season. It makes the College Football Playoff in <0.1% of 2.5 million simulated seasons (ESPN's FPI: <0.1%), wins the Mountain West in <0.1% and wins the national title in <0.01%, with 4.6 projected wins.

That is the 104th-best playoff chance among the 138 FBS teams.

Who Nevada fans should root for in week 11

No other game this week has a significant effect on Nevada's playoff odds.

What Nevada needs

Even at 6-6, Nevada makes the playoff in <0.1% of seasons. It reaches six wins and a bowl in 13.5% of seasons.

WeekOpponentWin probabilityPlayoff odds after a winAfter a loss
Week 11at Northern Illinois71.9%<0.1%<0.1%
Week 12vs Hawai'i56.4%<0.1%<0.1%
Week 13at UNLV28.2%<0.1%<0.1%

Nevada's playoff odds by final record

Regular seasonChance of that recordPlayoff odds
6-613.5%<0.1%
5-740.1%<0.1%
4-835.6%<0.1%
3-910.8%<0.1%

Nevada's results

week 1, beat Western Kentucky 49-14; week 2, lost to Montana State 7-20; week 3, lost to Middle Tennessee 20-27; week 4, lost to Air Force 33-36; week 6, beat UTEP 30-13; week 7, lost to North Dakota State 17-31; week 8, beat San José State 28-13; week 9, lost to UCLA 0-27; week 10, lost to New Mexico 3-31.

The Mountain West race

TeamWins the Mountain WestMakes the playoff
New Mexico70.1%10.9%
North Dakota State16.3%<0.1%
UNLV8.3%<0.1%
Air Force2.9%<0.1%
Wyoming2.1%<0.1%
San José State0.3%<0.1%
Nevada<0.1%<0.1%
Hawai'i<0.1%<0.1%
Northern Illinois<0.1%<0.1%
UTEP<0.1%<0.1%

The Mountain West title race: every team, the likeliest title games and how ties are broken.

Questions

Will Nevada make the College Football Playoff?
Nevada is 3-6 and makes the playoff in <0.1% of 2.5 million simulated seasons, with 4.6 projected wins. It wins the Mountain West in <0.1% and the national title in <0.01%.
What does Nevada need to make the playoff?
Even at 6-6, Nevada makes the playoff in <0.1% of seasons. It reaches six wins and a bowl in 13.5% of seasons.
Who should Nevada fans root for in week 11?
No other game this week has a significant effect on Nevada's playoff odds.
What is Nevada's toughest game left?
At UNLV in week 13, with a 28.2% chance to win.
How are Nevada's playoff odds calculated?
The rest of the season is simulated 2.5 million times. Each simulated season is rated, ranked by a model of the selection committee and played through the bracket. A game's impact is the difference in Nevada's playoff odds between the simulations each team wins it.

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