A week ago, the Georgia Bulldogs were on the outside looking in at the 12-team College Football Playoff picture.
This week, a new SEC team is in that spot. If the playoff started today, the Tennessee Volunteers would miss the cut after their 31-17 loss to Georgia over the weekend at Sanford Stadium.
As for the Alabama Crimson Tide, Kalen DeBoer’s team was one of the biggest risers in Tuesday’s updated selection committee rankings. Alabama rose three spots to No. 7 in the new rankings.
While the Crimson Tide’s win over a Football Championship Subdivision opponent (Mercer) might seem relatively unimpressive, consider this: Not only did Alabama leap Tennessee and the BYU Cougars after those teams lost, but the Tide also jumped the 9-1 Miami Hurricanes, the highest-ranked ACC team.
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Interestingly, one of biggest changes in the rankings was the selection committee showing us what it thought of the Big 12’s lack of a true conference power. After BYU was exposed in a 17-13 loss to the Kansas Jayhawks (4-6), the committee moved Boise State — the highest-ranked Group of Five team and projected Mountain West champion — ahead of the Cougars and, thus, into the No. 4 seed.
As a reminder, playoff rankings and actual seeding are two different things. Miami is the No. 8 team in the committee’s rankings, but they’re the No. 3 seed as the projected ACC champion. And as with last week, SMU may be one of the first teams out in the rankings, but the Mustangs still have a direct path to the ACC title game.
With that out of the way, here’s a look at what the bracket for the 12-team field would look like if the College Football Playoff started today, as well as who Alabama would face.
Projected Conference Champions, First-Round Byes
No. 1 seed: Oregon Ducks
Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard-USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Oregon College Football Playoff Ranking: No. 1
Oregon Current College Football Playoff Seed:…
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