Oregon, Georgia, and Miami continue to hold the top three positions in the latest College Football Playoff projections, revealed on Sunday. BYU climbed to the fourth seed, surpassing Iowa State following their victory over UCF, which also earned them a rise to No. 9 in the AP Top 25 rankings. Iowa State, which shares the 11th position with Clemson, did not play over the weekend.
Due to the tie in rankings, Iowa State and Clemson are both listed as potential No. 11 seeds. The team in this position would square off against No. 6 Ohio State in the first playoff round. The success of Texas A&M against LSU was significant, allowing the Aggies to claim the No. 10 seed where they would face their historic rivals, Texas, in an Austin matchup.
It’s important to note the selection format for the playoff bracket: the top four seeds consist of the highest-ranked conference champions, irrespective of their overall standings. Furthermore, the five best-ranked conference champions are guaranteed their places in the playoffs, and there is no limit to the number of teams from a single conference.
While the College Football Playoff selection committee will begin offering rankings on November 5, the current breakdown based on the AP Top 25 includes matches such as No. 9 Notre Dame against No. 8 Tennessee, where the winner will face No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl. Other matchups highlighted are No. 12 Boise State versus No. 5 Penn State (winner faces No. 4 BYU in the Fiesta Bowl), and No. 10 Texas A&M against No. 7 Texas (winner moves on to play No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl). Additionally, No. 11 Clemson or Iowa State will take on No. 6 Ohio State, with the winner advancing to face No. 3 Miami in the Peach Bowl.
This week saw Texas A&M making their way into the playoff projections, replacing LSU, which has dropped out. The next five teams closely monitoring the rankings include Tied No. 11 Clemson or Iowa State, No. 13 Indiana, No. 14 Alabama, and No. 16 LSU.