College Football Playoff Picture: Here’s what the 12-team bracket looks like after Week 5

It’s never too early to start thinking about the College Football Playoff field.

With this season’s playoff expanding to 12 teams, we’ll be laying out the projected playoff field each week as the season goes on. Yeah, the official playoff rankings won’t be released until Nov. 5, but that won’t stop us from making our own guesses.

Without CFP rankings as our guide, we’ll mostly rely on the AP Top 25 as our barometer to project the field. The CFP rankings and AP poll typically have many more similarities than differences at the end of the season. Here’s what the provisional playoff field looks like as the calendar flips to October.

First-round byes

1. Alabama (4-0, projected SEC champion)

The Crimson Tide jumped into the top spot in the AP poll on Sunday after their dominant first half turned into an escape against Georgia. Alabama looked unstoppable for the first 30 minutes and, well, stopped in the second half until 17-year-old freshman wide receiver Ryan Williams made two big plays. Alabama travels to a feisty Vanderbilt squad on Saturday afternoon. Don’t be surprised if Vanderbilt hangs around for a little bit.

2. Ohio State (4-0, projected Big Ten champion)

The Buckeyes have now been jumped in the AP Top 25 by two different SEC teams despite a season that includes four 30-point wins. Ohio State is simply taking care of business so far this season and that was on display in a 38-7 win at Michigan State. Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith continues to show why he’s so good, and three different QBs got the chance to throw passes against the Spartans. Saturday’s matchup against Iowa’s defense will be the biggest test the OSU offense has faced so far.

3. Miami (5-0, projected ACC champion)

The Hurricanes stay at No. 3 despite a dramatic 38-34 win over Virginia Tech on Friday night. Miami did its best…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-10-01 14:08:06

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