Georgia’s win at Texas returns the Bulldogs to the top overall seed and dumps the Longhorns into an at-large bid in this week’s College Football Playoff projection.
While playoff expansion has lessened the impact of these high-profile games, this swap reflects the down-the-road influence of the regular season. Now, the Bulldogs are poised to receive a bye through the playoff’s opening round while the Longhorns would have to navigate through another postseason matchup to win the national championship.
The Longhorns are still projected for a rematch with Georgia to decide the SEC. For one, the loss doesn’t alter the fact that Texas has looked like one of the nation’s best teams; after getting thrown into an early hole on Saturday night, the Longhorns rebounded after the break and largely outplayed the Bulldogs in the second half.
There’s also a very manageable schedule that paves the way for the rematch. That’s good news and bad: Texas might have an easier path than other contenders in the SEC, but that fact could come back to hurt the Longhorns’ postseason credentials if they stumble before December.
In fact, there is a chance that Texas could lose just once yet fail to notch a single win against a team that finishes the regular season in the US LBM Coaches Poll. The Longhorns don’t have a ranked win through seven games — Michigan and Oklahoma were ranked at the time but have since dropped off the map — and would need Texas A&M to keep winning to ensure that remains a ranked-on-ranked matchup in the season finale.
College Football Playoff bracket projection
There are several unexpected contenders lurking in the playoff picture.
One is A&M, which has won six in a row after dropping the opener to Notre Dame. While they could take care of this problem by reaching the SEC championship game, the Aggies are rooting for the Fighting Irish to lose at least once and preferably twice to remove that potential roadblock from the equation.
Indiana continues to impress over in the Big Ten, most recently dismantling Nebraska in a 56-7 win. Off to the program’s best start since 1967, the Hoosiers end the regular season with Washington, Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State and Purdue, with the Spartans and Buckeyes coming on the road.
In the Big 12, Brigham Young remains tied with Iowa State as the league’s two unbeaten contenders. The Cougars miss the Cyclones during the regular season but do take on road trips against Central Florida, Utah and Arizona State.
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Four teams to watch
SMU
The Mustangs are only an 18-15 loss against BYU from being undefeated. Amazingly, they’ve defied the skeptics to rise to stand as one of three teams still perfect in ACC play, along with Miami and Clemson. Those two heavyweights are projected to represent the conference in the playoff, but SMU has played well enough to warrant a place among the crowded group of Power Four teams hanging around just outside the bracket.
Illinois
Like Indiana, Illinois is a surprising contender in the Big Ten as the regular season passes the midway point. On Saturday, the Illini manhandled Michigan in a 21-7 win that should put the team back on track after losing to Penn State and barely escaping against Purdue. This weekend’s matchup with Oregon will make or break Illinois’ chances.
UNLV
UNLV owned the second half against Oregon State to win 33-25 and stay at just one loss entering Friday night’s enormous Mountain West pairing with Boise State. While the Broncos are the Group of Five representative in our bracket, ahead of teams such as Army and Navy, the Rebels can climb back into the driver’s seat with a win. They’ll have to slow down Boise running back Ashton Jeanty, the nation’s leading rusher (1,248 yards) and a Heisman Trophy favorite.
Louisiana-Lafayette
Another team rising up the Group of Five rankings is ULL, which moved to 6-1 overall and stayed perfect in the Sun Belt with a 34-24 win at Coastal Carolina. The Ragin’ Cajuns have a solid loss to Tulane, a road win against Wake Forest and the chance to two or three wins down the stretch against potential bowl teams in Texas State, Arkansas State and rival Louisiana-Monroe. Louisiana-Lafayette needs a few things: to win out, for Georgia Southern to win out and create the best possible Sun Belt championship game matchup, and for some teams in the American Athletic to take down Army and Navy.