- The College Football Playoff landscape shifted after Week 7’s games.
- Texas A&M enters the 12-team field, replacing Oklahoma after its loss to Texas.
- Indiana moved into the top four following its victory over Oregon.
And just like that the College Football Playoff picture has changed again.
First, let’s start with the teams entering the 12-team field in this week’s bowl projections. Texas A&M steps into a spot vacated by Oklahoma after its loss to Texas in Week 7. The Aggies are No. 4 in the US LBM Coaches Poll after a 6-0 start that includes an important non-conference victory at Notre Dame. The schedule in the second half includes LSU, Missouri and Texas, but they might just need one win among those three if they can avoid an bad loss.
The bigger changes come inside the playoff seedings with Indiana moving into the top four after its defeat of Oregon that sends the Ducks into a road game against Texas A&M. Oregon’s resume has taken a big hit with Penn State’s free fall. Southern California is the only ranked opponent left on its schedule.
Texas Tech continues its move up the bracket, boosted by an impressive defeat of Kansas. The Red Raiders appear to the class of the Big 12, and it’s possible they could run the table to the conference title game.
Georgia and Mississippi hold their spots at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively. That likely will change with the teams playing in Week 8. There could also be trouble ahead for Georgia Tech, which hits the road against Duke.
So expect more changes when we come back next week.
Note: Legacy Pac-12 schools in other conferences will fulfill existing Pac-12 bowl agreements through the 2025 season.