The Week 8 AP Top 25 is set, and there is a new team on top: Miami (FL) is the No. 1, Georgia took its first loss, and BYU has surged all the way to No. 2. 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. Five automatic bids go to the five highest-ranked conference champions, 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 8)
Built from the Week 8 AP Top 25, using each conference’s top-ranked team as its projected champion. Field shown as of October 19, 2026.
| Seed | Team | Conference | How they get in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miami (FL) | ACC | Champion (bye) |
| 2 | BYU | Big 12 | Champion (bye) |
| 3 | Ohio State | Big Ten | Champion (bye) |
| 4 | Notre Dame | Independent | At-large (bye) |
| 5 | Georgia | SEC | Champion |
| 6 | Indiana | Big Ten | At-large |
| 7 | Ole Miss | SEC | At-large |
| 8 | Texas Tech | Big 12 | At-large |
| 9 | UCLA | Big Ten | At-large |
| 10 | Utah | Big 12 | At-large |
| 11 | Tennessee | SEC | At-large |
| 12 | Boise State | Mountain West | Champion |
First round (on the higher seed’s campus)
- (5) Georgia vs (12) Boise State
- (6) Indiana vs (11) Tennessee
- (7) Ole Miss vs (10) Utah
- (8) Texas Tech vs (9) UCLA
Quarterfinal pairings (New Year’s Six bowls)
- (1) Miami (FL) vs the Texas Tech or UCLA winner
- (2) BYU vs the Ole Miss or Utah winner
- (3) Ohio State vs the Indiana or Tennessee winner
- (4) Notre Dame vs the Georgia or Boise State winner
Projected conference champions
- SEC: Georgia
- Big Ten: Ohio State
- ACC: Miami (FL)
- 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. Georgia is the SEC’s top-ranked team even after its first loss, so it stays in as the projected league champion, just down at the 5 seed.
First teams out
The auto-bid for a Group of Five champion, plus a crowded SEC and Big Ten, means several highly ranked teams just miss. Right now the first four out are Kentucky (No. 12 in the AP poll), Alabama (13), Houston (14) and Iowa (15). Alabama is the most dangerous name on that list, and one more Tennessee stumble would swing the final SEC at-large spot its way.
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 Ohio State and Notre Dame projected near the very top once their schedules play out, Miami (FL) treated as a real national-title contender after climbing to No. 1, and the Big 12 viewed as a true scramble, with BYU, Texas Tech and Utah all live for the league crown rather than BYU running away with it. Most boards still peg 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, where Alabama, Kentucky and a surging Houston are all in the mix.
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 8
- 2026 college football rule changes and CFP format cheat sheet
- 2026-27 College Football Playoff schedule and 12-team bracket sheet
- 2026-27 College Football Bowl Schedule: printable grid and TV guide
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 is Georgia only the 5 seed if it is the SEC champion?
Conference champions are not guaranteed a bye. Only the top four seeds get byes, and seeding runs straight down the AP order. Georgia is the SEC’s highest-ranked team, so it holds a champion’s bid, but at No. 5 in the poll it lands at the 5 seed and hosts a first-round game.
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.
