Here’s what the College Football Playoff bracket would look like based on rankings after Week 12
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
The third set of College Football Playoff rankings has been released, with Selection Sunday now less than three weeks away.
As far as the projected post-Week 12 bracket is concerned, there’s a change among the four teams that will receive first-round byes. Spots 1 through 3 haven’t changed: it’s still Ohio State, Indiana, and Texas A&M. The Buckeyes and Hoosiers cruised in their respective games while the Aggies nearly suffered a catastrophic loss to South Carolina before a second-half comeback for the ages. For the first time this season, however, it’s Georgia at No. 4 after Alabama‘s defeat at Oklahoma, putting the Tide on thin ice the rest of the way.
Looking at the projected first-round matchups, Texas Tech, at No. 5, would host 12th-seeded and No. 24-ranked Tulane from the American — the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion — in Lubbock, with the winner taking on Georgia. Ole Miss, the 6th seed, would face Miami, the projected ACC champ, in Oxford, for the right to play Texas A&M.
The 7-10 matchup would see Oregon welcome Alabama to Eugene, with that game’s winner taking on Indiana. For the 8-9 game, Oklahoma, who leapfrogged into the Playoff chase after beating the Tide, would play Notre Dame in Norman, with the winner drawing Ohio State. Meanwhile, BYU and Utah would be the first two teams out.
All told, the projected bracket features five SEC teams, three Big Ten teams, and one each from the Big 12, ACC, and the American, plus Notre Dame. Here’s a look at how it shakes out in visual form:
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.
