College Football Playoff bracket: 12-team field after fifth CFP Rankings reveal

There was a major change in the last series of College Football Playoff Rankingsas Texas A&M fell from the top four to No. 7 after losing to Texas in the final full weekend of the regular season. The Aggies’ fall allowed Texas Tech to move into the top four at No. 4.

Georgia also moved up one spot to No. 3 while Ohio State and Indiana remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. That’s not the only notable development in Tuesday’s rankings, however.

Notre Dame slipped one spot to 10th after sitting at nine for several weeks. Alabama edged out the Fighting Irish after closing out its season with a close 27-20 win over rival Auburn. The Crimson Tide can solidify their status in Saturday’s SEC Championship Game against Georgia, while Notre Dame – as an independent – ​​left its final impression on the selection committee in Week 14.

It appears Ole Miss won’t be affected by coach Lane Kiffin leaving for LSU. The Rebels are still ranked sixth, giving them home-field advantage in the projected College Football Playoff bracket. Retaining most of the remaining coaches through the postseason likely helped Ole Miss’ prospects.

Tulane remained the highest-ranked Group of Five school at No. 20, which would give the Green Wave the No. 12 seed in the projected bracket. Virginia would be in 11th place if it was able to take care of business against Duke in the ACC championship game.

James Madison made its debut in the College Football Playoff rankings after capping an 11-1 regular season with a 59-10 victory over Coastal Carolina. The Dukes, who remained undefeated in conference play, will face Troy in the Sun Belt Conference championship game on Friday. This is a potentially huge spot for the Dukes.

They’ll need help, but the path to the playoffs is there. If Virginia loses in the ACC championship game, that would apparently open up one of five automatic bids. It’s hard to imagine a five-loss Duke team beating James Madison.

So there is a scenario where two Group of Five teams make the College Football Playoff. The assumption is that the winner of the American Conference – either No. 20 Tulane or No. 24 North Texas – will get an automatic bid no matter what.

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Notre-Dame on the ropes?

Even though Notre Dame only dropped one spot to 10th, this is a very significant move. This means the Fighting Irish are now the last team left in the field with an at-large bid. This is bubble territory.

Since Notre Dame is not in a conference title game this week, it technically can no longer control its own destiny. The Fighting Irish are likely cheering for No. 4 Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game. If No. 11 BYU wins the Big 12 title, there’s a good chance it supplants Notre Dame as champion while Texas Tech falls to an at-large spot – leaving no room for the Fighting Irish.