CFP Bracketology: Week 1

CFP Bracketology: Week 1

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

CFP Bracketology: Week 1
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA – SEPTEMBER 05: Running back Dilin Jones #13 of the LSU Tigers is defended by safety Corey Myrick #22 of the Clemson Tigers during the first half of a game at Tiger Stadium on September 05, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Week 1 of the college football season was mostly business as usual, but several results from the weekend slate have started the conversation around the College Football Playoff.

The selection process for the 12-team playoff has been tweaked from the previous two seasons:

  • Each of the four power conference champions (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC) receives an automatic bid.
  • The highest-ranked team from the Group of Six conferences (American, Sun Belt, MAC, Pac-12, Mountain West, C-USA) receives an automatic bid, regardless of whether or not they won the conference championship.
  • The next seven highest-ranked teams receive an at-large bid.

My projected field after Week 1 is as follows:

  • P4 Champions: Ohio State, Miami, LSU, Texas Tech
  • G6 Leader: Boise State
  • At-Large Teams: Georgia, Texas, Notre Dame, Oregon, Indiana, BYU, Alabama
  • Outside Looking In: Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, USC, Penn State, Utah, SMU, Tennessee

Some notes from Week 1:

  • LSU is my predicted SEC champion after the Tigers eviscerated Clemson on Saturday night. The defense was already one of the best in the country last year, and a much-improved offense could be the difference-maker against the meat of their schedule.
  • Boise State would have become the heavy favorite to secure the G6 bid had they defeated Oregon, but the Ducks pulled out a narrow 34-27 home win. The Broncos play Memphis on Saturday and Western Michigan on September 26. The results of those two games will go a long way toward solving the puzzle of who gets the G6 bid, and I like Boise State’s chances.
  • Ole Miss should hold a Top 10 position for now, but I am skeptical that they will be there at the end of November. The Rebels still have LSU, Texas, Georgia, and Oklahoma on the schedule, and they will likely need to win two of those to make the playoffs. This is a team that has lived on the margins since Lane Kiffin left, and eventually the defensive errors will come back to bite them in their toughest games.
  • Texas Tech, BYU, and Utah all had cupcake games in Week 1, making it harder to gauge the balance of power in the Big 12. Until we see how these teams fare against better competition, I am defaulting to the defending conference champions. I currently have BYU in my projected field with a favorable schedule and a strong potential for the bubble SEC teams to cannibalize each other.
  • Texas A&M and Oklahoma are currently in the Top 10 but are outside my projected field. The Aggies overperformed last year and had a relatively smooth SEC schedule. They should still have a solid year, but I see a bit of a regression for them. Depending on how these teams’ records shake out, the Texas A&M-Oklahoma matchup on November 21 could be an elimination game.

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos