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 25th in the nation, Boise State would be the 12th seed and would knock out LSU (the 12th-ranked team) from the playoff.
This would have them playing a first-round game against #5 seed Indiana. The winner would then go on to play Notre Dame (the 4th seed) in the next round.
Tennessee also benefits from all of the historic top 10 losses last weekend (including their win over a higher-ranked Alabama team). This caused them to climb higher in the national rankings.
As an 11 seed, they would play #6 BYU in the first round of the playoff. If they won, they would then go on to play #3 Georgia.
Alabama would secure an at-large spot in the bracket based on their high overall rank. Their somewhat steady performances (even though they lost to a lower-ranked Tennessee) have them achieving a 10-seed placement.
They would play Texas Tech in the first round of the playoff, and then the winner would meet the #2 seed Ohio State in the next round.
Utah received some help from Alabama's and Texas's losses this weekend, which pushed them up higher in the national rankings.
They enter the playoff picture as a 9-seed. This would currently have them playing an #8 seed Ole Miss in the first round, with the winner advancing to a matchup against Miami.
Ole Miss regained form, and their loss a few weeks ago to Florida now seems like a fluke. They move up to an 8-seed placement, where they would play Utah in the first round of the playoffs. The winner would advance to play Miami.
Texas Tech rises to the 7 seed position in the bracket. They would play Alabama in a first-round game, with the winner going up against Ohio State.
With many top 10 teams losing this past week, BYU is a big winner by rising in the national rankings.
As a 6-seed and receiver of the automatic Big 12 bid, BYU would play a first-round game against 11-seed Tennessee. The winner would go on to play Georgia.
Based on their current ranking, Indiana would make the field as an at -large bid and capture the 5th overall seed.
They would play Boise State in the first round of the playoffs. The winner would go on to play Notre Dame.
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 secure an automatic bid as the highest-ranked team in the SEC (we treat that as the conference's designated champion since we are looking into the future).
Their current ranking would place them as the 3rd seed with a first-round bye.
Ohio State is the highest-rated Big 10 team, so we take that as them winning the Big 10 championship and earning an automatic bid.
As a 2-seed, they would get a first-round bye during the playoffs.
As the highest-ranked team in the ACC, we are ranking Miami as the conference champion also and awarding them the automatic bid. Their overtime win against Florida State last weekend solidified their status as a strong team.
Because they rank among the top four teams overall, they would also earn a first-round bye as the top seed in the bracket.
