Miami’s hold on the top spot didn’t last long in the latest College Football Playoff projection, and the picture at the top is only getting messier as November arrives.
With four different teams already having been ranked No. 1 this season, the sport could be headed for a fifth before the month gets rolling. And with another big weekend on deck, the next round of playoff selection talk figures to bring even more shuffling when the committee meets again.
Here’s where the bracket stands in this projection:
Georgia remains the SEC champion pick, and the Bulldogs are still viewed as the most complete team in the country. The projection has them winning at Ole Miss this week and then finishing the job the rest of the way to repeat as league champs.
In the ACC, Miami is still the favorite to win the conference, but the Hurricanes took a hit with Malachi Toney’s injury. Before that setback, the projection had Miami beating Notre Dame; now that’s no longer the case with the star wideout unavailable. Even so, the Hurricanes are still considered the ACC’s best team and are expected to finish with just one loss.
Utah is the projected Big 12 champion, and the Utes have a key test coming against rival BYU. The case for Utah is built in part on the fact that the Utes are facing college football’s ninth-ranked total offense.
The Big Ten projection has shifted because of the injury to Julian Sayin, which moves Indiana ahead of Ohio State as the expected conference champion. The Buckeyes are no longer the pick, though the Hoosiers still need to become much more dangerous offensively if they want to do anything beyond that.
Kentucky is projected as the SEC runner-up, with a close road win at Tennessee this weekend pushing the Wildcats closer to a trip to Atlanta.
In the Big Ten runner-up spot, Bob Chesney’s first season at UCLA continues to stand out. The Bruins have paired one of the sport’s most productive rushing attacks with an elite scoring defense.
Alabama is in as an at-large team, and the committee still appears to like the Crimson Tide despite losses to Georgia and Tennessee. If Alabama beats LSU and runs the table from there, that should be enough to get in.
Texas Tech is the projected Big 12 runner-up, and the Red Raiders still have a route to the conference title game if they clean things up. If BYU loses to Utah and Texas Tech avoids more mistakes, the Red Raiders could climb back into the race.
Notre Dame is also projected as an at-large team. A win over No.
1 Miami should lock up a playoff spot as long as the Irish don’t slip again. Since they are not playing for a conference title, though, their ceiling remains limited.
Ole Miss is another at-large team in the field, though the Rebels could move around depending on what happens next. A loss to Georgia, paired with Texas winning out, would push the Longhorns up in the SEC standings. But if Ole Miss then loses to LSU in two weeks, that could come back to hurt Lane Kiffin’s team.
Ohio State is the first team out right now, but the Buckeyes can get back in by beating Oregon and finishing strong. They’re favored against the Ducks, though the projection says they need far better quarterback play.
The Group of Six spot still belongs to Boise State, which remains the top non-Power conference team and has a clear path to the playoff selection. The Broncos still have Oregon State left on the schedule, though, and that game stands in the way.
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