2026 Official Rules

The cost to participate in the 2026 FDIC Selection Saturday season is $100 per player.

100% of collected entry fees form the season prize pool.

Overall & Weekly Winners — 50%

50% of the total prize pool is allocated to the primary FDIC Selection Saturday competition, including Weekly Winners and the season-long Overall Standings.

The specific distribution between Weekly Winners and the final Overall Standings will be based on the total number of entries for the season.

National Champion Pool — 30%

30% of the total prize pool is awarded through the preseason National Champion selection.

If multiple players correctly select the eventual National Champion, the National Champion Pool will be split evenly among all players who made the correct selection.

If no player correctly selects the National Champion, the entire 30% National Champion Pool is transferred to the Overall & Weekly Winners pool.

Overrated Pool — 10%

10% of the total prize pool is allocated to the Overrated competition.

Before the season, each player selects one team from the AP Preseason Top 25 as their Overrated selection. The AP Preseason ranking remains fixed throughout the competition.

At the end of the season, the CBS Sports End-of-Year Top 130 rankings will be used to determine each selected team's final ranking. The winner is determined by the team that has fallen the farthest from its AP Preseason ranking to its final CBS Sports End-of-Year Top 130 ranking.

If multiple players selected the winning Overrated team, the Overrated Pool will be split evenly among those players.

Underdog Pool — 10%

10% of the total prize pool is allocated to the season-long Underdog competition.

Players earn 6 Underdog Points whenever they correctly select the week's qualifying winning underdog. The Underdog Pool is awarded based on the final Underdog Standings.

Each week, the Commissioner will publish a slate of up to 15 college football games.

For every game, players predict the final score. The app automatically determines the selected winner from the predicted score, so there is no separate winner selection.

Tie score predictions are not permitted.

The point spread and Over/Under displayed for each game are informational only. Weekly picks are based on the actual outright winner of the football game, not against the spread.

All picks must be submitted before the week's designated lock time. Once selections are locked, they cannot be changed.

Players are responsible for making sure their selections have been completed and saved before the deadline.

Players receive credit for correctly predicting the outright winner of each game.

Weekly standings are determined first by the number of correct picks.

Score Differential Tiebreaker

For every game, the difference between the predicted score and the actual final score is calculated. The player with the lowest total score differential wins the tiebreaker.

If an additional tiebreak is required, the league's established 100% differential calculation will be used.

Players are expected to participate every week.

A missed game is treated as a 1–0 loss prediction for scoring and differential purposes.

• The player receives no correct-pick credit.
• The game counts against the player's score differential.
• Missing a week does not remove the player from the season.

Each week provides an opportunity to earn Underdog Points.

The weekly Underdog Game is determined from games in which an underdog wins outright.

The winning underdog with the largest point spread becomes the week's qualifying Underdog Game.

Underdog Tiebreaker

1. If multiple winning underdogs have the same largest spread, the game with the fewest correct player picks becomes the qualifying Underdog Game.
2. If those games are also tied in correct selections, the Commissioner selects the official Underdog Game during Week Review.

The Commissioner's selection is final.

National Champion

Each player selects the team they believe will win the National Championship.

If multiple players correctly select the champion, the 30% National Champion Pool is divided evenly among all correct selections.

If nobody correctly selects the National Champion, the entire National Champion Pool is transferred to the Overall & Weekly Winners pool.

Overrated Team

Each player selects the team they believe is most overrated entering the season.

The Overrated selection is limited to the AP Preseason Top 25.

The team's AP Preseason ranking remains frozen for purposes of the Overrated competition. Final comparison is made using the CBS Sports End-of-Year Top 130.

Preseason selections become available after publication of the official AP Preseason Poll.

Both preseason selections must be submitted before the established preseason deadline. Once the deadline passes, preseason selections are locked for the season.

Weekly Picks may display each team's latest available AP ranking.

Unlike the rankings used for preseason selections, these rankings update throughout the season as new AP Polls are published.

AP rankings are informational and have no effect on weekly scoring.

After the week's games are completed, the Commissioner enters and finalizes the official scores.

Before completing a week, the Commissioner uses Week Review to verify:

• Final game results
• Weekly scoring
• Score differential
• Winning underdog
• Players receiving Underdog Points
• Any required Underdog tiebreak

Once confirmed, the week becomes official.

The Commissioner is responsible for administering FDIC Selection Saturday and maintaining the integrity of the competition.

This includes publishing weekly games, establishing deadlines, correcting data-entry errors, recording official scores, reviewing and completing weeks, resolving Underdog ties when necessary, and addressing unusual situations not specifically covered by these rules.

When an unforeseen circumstance occurs, the Commissioner will make a ruling consistent with the intent and competitive fairness of FDIC Selection Saturday.

Each player is responsible for:

• Maintaining access to their account
• Submitting picks on time
• Verifying that picks have been saved
• Reviewing published schedules and deadlines
• Keeping their account information current
• Following league rules and Commissioner decisions

Technical problems should be reported to the Commissioner before the applicable deadline whenever possible.