Boise State would earn an automatic bid by fulfilling the requirement that guarantees a playoff spot to the highest-ranked Group of Five champion (regardless of their overall national ranking). Ranked 27th in the nation, Boise State would be the 12th seed and would knock out Tennessee (the 12th-ranked team) from the playoff.
This would have them playing a first-round game against #5 seed Ohio State. The winner would then go on to play the Miami Hurricanes (the 4th seed) in the next round.
BYU enters as the Big 12 automatic bid holder, representing the highest-ranked team from their conference. Because they rank outside the top 12 overall, they knock USC out of playoff contention and fill the 11 seed in the bracket.
This would have them playing against 6th seed Indiana in the first round. The winner would then go on to play the 3rd seed, Notre Dame.
Down one spot from our estimate last week, Ole Miss joins the playoff as an at-large qualifier. Thanks to their #10 ranking, they take the 10th seed and the last remaining non-automatic spot in the bracket.
The 10th seed plays the 7th seed in the opening round of the playoffs, which in this case would be LSU if nothing changed for the rest of the season. The winner would then go on to play #2 seed Georgia in back-to-back SEC matchups.
Alabama is the new addition to the prospective playoff picture this week. They have replaced Oregon, who tumbled down the rankings after a loss over the weekend. Alabama would secure an at-large spot in the bracket based on their high overall rank.
They would play Texas A&M in the first round of the playoff, and then the winner would meet the #1 seed Texas in the next round.
Texas A&M improved its prospective seeding from 10th last week to 8th this week. They would take an at-large bid after finishing in the top portion of the overall field.
This would give them a home-field advantage in a first-round game against Alabama, with No. 1 Texas waiting for the winner after their bye.
Last week, we pegged LSU at #8. This week, they are up one spot to #7. LSU would fill an at-large berth based on their ranking.
As a 7 seed, they would have home-field advantage in a game against the 10 seed, which in this case would be Ole Miss.
Indiana would make the field as an at-large team due to their high national ranking outside of a conference champion slot.
They would earn a home game in the first round as the sixth seed. They would play BYU, the 10th seed in the bracket.
Ohio State would claim an automatic bid as the highest-ranked Big Ten team, fulfilling the requirement for a Big Ten champion spot. As the highest-ranked team from their conference, we're treating them as if they won their conference championship.
Ranked fifth overall, they would miss a top-four bye but earn home-field advantage in the first round against No. 12 Boise State.
Miami would secure an automatic bid as the highest-ranked team in the ACC (we treat that as the conference's designated champion since we are looking into the future).
Up two spots in the rankings from last week, the Hurricanes would nab a top-four spot overall
Notre Dame qualifies via the rule granting an automatic bid to the Fighting Irish whenever they finish in the top 12 of the final rankings. They grab a first-round bye, also, by holding a top-four position overall in the rankings.
Georgia would enter the playoff as an at-large team based on their ranking. By placing in the top four overall regardless of conference championship status, they secure a first-round bye under the 2026 seeding format.
As the highest-ranked team in the SEC, we are ranking Texas as the conference champion and receiving the automatic bid. Their win over Ohio State last weekend pushed them up 3 spots in the rankings.
Because they rank among the top four teams overall, they would also earn a first-round bye as the top seed in the bracket.
