There are two SEC West teams who have registered impressive non-conference victories already this season, and neither one is Alabama. That holds weight with Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports in his latest College Football Playoff projection if the bracket were decided today.

Forde sees the Peach Bowl being between top seed LSU and fourth seed Ohio State, while the Fiesta Bowl would pit second seed Clemson against third seed Auburn.

Obviously, many other college football observers don’t have LSU or Auburn, and instead have Alabama, Georgia, or Oklahoma, if not Utah and even Central Florida. But Forde has written this based on what’s known, and not necessarily about what most people think will happen by December.

“The Tigers keep their hold on the top spot because they still have the best win of the season, at Texas,” he wrote. “The Buckeyes make their first appearance in the Fab Four following their first trip away from the Horseshoe. Ohio State was impressively complete in thrashing Indiana 51-10, scoring points in all three phases with a blocked punt for a safety and a pick six.”

In the other semifinal, Forde notes, “Clemson has three wins over Power Five competition, which nobody else can say at this point. … Auburn’s neutral-site win over Oregon continues to hold up well. This Tigers team is built around its defensive line, but they finally got the offense cranked up in a rout of Kent State on Saturday. … The Tigers can entrench themselves in the Fab Four (or perhaps fall out) Saturday with a trip to Texas A&M.”