The Week 5 AP Top 25 is set, so here is where the 12-team College Football Playoff field stands if the season ended today, plus how the national bracketologists see it shaking out and where the bowl picture is heading. We refresh this every Sunday night once the new AP poll drops, right up until the College Football Playoff Committee releases its own rankings in November.
How we build these projections
The CFP Committee does not release its first official rankings until early November, so until then we lean on the AP Top 25 as our proxy for the selection order, then apply the playoff’s real seeding rules on top of it.
Here is the quick version of the 12-team format. Twelve teams get in: the five highest-ranked conference champions earn automatic bids, and the next seven highest-ranked teams get at-large spots. With four power conferences (SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC) plus one guaranteed spot for the highest-ranked Group of Five champion, that fifth auto-bid always comes from outside the power leagues. Seeding runs straight down the rankings, and the top four seeds get a first-round bye while seeds 5 through 12 play on the higher seed’s home campus. For the full rulebook, see our 2026 College Football Playoff format cheat sheet.
Because we use current AP position to stand in for who would win each league, this weekly bracket reads a little differently from the season-long expert projections below. Ours answers the question, if the poll were the committee today. Theirs answer who finishes there in January.
Projected 12-team bracket (Week 5)
Built from the Week 5 AP Top 25, using each conference’s top-ranked team as its projected champion. Field shown as of September 28, 2026.
| Seed | Team | Conference | How they get in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | SEC | Champion (bye) |
| 2 | Georgia | SEC | At-large (bye) |
| 3 | Notre Dame | Independent | At-large (bye) |
| 4 | Miami | ACC | Champion (bye) |
| 5 | Ohio State | Big Ten | Champion |
| 6 | Indiana | Big Ten | At-large |
| 7 | Alabama | SEC | At-large |
| 8 | Florida | SEC | At-large |
| 9 | Ole Miss | SEC | At-large |
| 10 | BYU | Big 12 | Champion |
| 11 | LSU | SEC | At-large |
| 12 | Boise State | Mountain West | Group of Five champion |
First round (on the higher seed’s campus)
- (5) Ohio State vs (12) Boise State
- (6) Indiana vs (11) LSU
- (7) Alabama vs (10) BYU
- (8) Florida vs (9) Ole Miss
Quarterfinal pairings (New Year’s Six bowls)
- (1) Texas vs the Florida or Ole Miss winner
- (2) Georgia vs the Alabama or BYU winner
- (3) Notre Dame vs the Indiana or LSU winner
- (4) Miami vs the Ohio State or Boise State winner
Projected conference champions
- SEC: Texas
- Big Ten: Ohio State
- ACC: Miami
- Big 12: BYU
- Group of Five: Boise State (Mountain West)
Notre Dame, as an independent, cannot win a conference, so the Fighting Irish claim the top at-large seed.
First teams out
The auto-bid for a Group of Five champion means one highly ranked at-large team just misses. Right now the first four out are Texas Tech (No. 12 in the AP poll), Utah (13), Iowa (14) and Oregon (15). Oregon is trending up after its road win, and Texas Tech would slide right back in with a Big 12 stumble by BYU.
How the national bracketologists see it
Our snapshot uses today’s poll, but the outlets that project final records see a few things differently. Across ESPN, Athlon Sports, Rotowire and Bleacher Report this week, the recurring themes are Notre Dame projected near the very top once its schedule plays out, Indiana carrying Big Ten momentum toward a projected league title, and Texas Tech favored to win the Big 12 over BYU by season’s end. Bleacher Report also flags Boise State as the clear front-runner for the Group of Five bid, which matches our snapshot. The top of the field is largely agreed on. The real debate is the last three or four at-large spots.
Bowl picture
The New Year’s Six bowls host the playoff quarterfinals and semifinals, with the other bowl games filling out late December and early January. The full lineup, dates and TV channels live on our printable guides:
- 2026-27 College Football Bowl Schedule: printable grid and TV guide
- 2026-27 College Football Playoff schedule and 12-team bracket sheet
As the field firms up, we will layer projected non-playoff matchups into this section each week.
Print this week’s bracket
We turned the projected field above into a free printable bracket, prefilled with this week’s teams and dated so you can track how it moves.
Prefer a blank one to fill in yourself? Grab our blank printable College Football Playoff bracket.
More from Sports Brackets
- 2026 College Football AP Top 25: Week 5
- 2026 College Football Playoff predictions and preseason bracket
- 2026 college football rule changes and CFP format
- 2026 College Football schedule: printable PDF and key dates
Frequently asked questions
How is the 12-team playoff field decided?
Five conference champions get automatic bids and the next seven highest-ranked teams get at-large spots. Teams are then seeded straight down the rankings, with the top four seeds earning a first-round bye.
Why does a Group of Five team make it?
The five automatic bids go to the five highest-ranked conference champions. With four power conferences, the fifth champion always comes from a Group of Five league, so the top-ranked Group of Five champion earns a spot.
Why use the AP poll instead of the CFP rankings?
The College Football Playoff Committee does not publish its first rankings until early November. Until then, the AP Top 25 is the best weekly proxy for the selection order.
How often is this updated?
Every Sunday night, after the new AP Top 25 is released.
