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ESPN updates projected College Football Playoff field after wild Week 5
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
ESPN released its projected College Football Playoff field following a memorable slate of games in Week 5.
The day started with Kentucky going to Ole Miss and defeating the then-No. 6 team in the country. It ended with Alabama nearly blowing a big halftime lead before freshman star Ryan Williams’s touchdown catch late in the 4th quarter ensured a win for the Tide against Georgia.
As such, here’s the projected top 12 if the CFP were to begin today, according to ESPN’s Heather Dinich:
- Alabama
- Texas
- Tennessee
- Ohio State
- Georgia
- Penn State
- Oregon
- Miami
- Clemson
- Michigan
- Kansas State
- Ole Miss
As you can see, 5 SEC teams are in Dinich’s projected top 12: Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, Georgia, and Ole Miss. That said, the projected CFP top 12 wouldn’t correlate to the actual playoff seeding given the five highest-ranked conference champions will make the field, with the top four among those teams receiving a first-round bye. The remaining seven spots will be given out on an at-large basis regardless of conference.
As for the actual CFP rankings, the first batch of those will be released on Nov. 5, leading up to Selection Day on Dec. 8.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
