CFP bracket projection: Texas leads, Oregon moves up and LSU returns
It was another wild Saturday in college football as Week 7 brought drama and unexpected finishes that changed the outlook for the playoff.
This week’s College Football Playoff projection bracket
1. Texas: Georgia rolls into Austin next week, and suddenly doesn’t look like the dominant force of years past.
2. Oregon: Of all the impressive games in QB Dillon Gabriel’s brilliant career, none were better than the Ohio State win.
3. Miami: It’s FSU week, and it wasn’t that long ago when it used to mean something.
4. Brigham Young: Two prove it games in the Big 12 (Kansas State, Arizona), and two wins by a combined 79-28.
5. Ohio State: Rarely will you see a team do whatever it wants for four quarters ― and somehow lose the game.
6. Georgia: The fact that Mississippi State scored 31 points on the vaunted Georgia defense should be alarming (and the second time this season UGA has given up more than 30 points).
7. Penn State: Don’t underestimate the win against a desperate team after a 2,000-mile trip to the West Coast.
8. Iowa State: It was ugly early, but the defense took over (again) and the magical season continues.
9. Clemson: There’s no hotter quarterback in the country than Cade Klubnik, who has 21 total TDs since season opening loss to Georgia.
10. LSU: A patchwork defense, a hot quarterback. Somehow, it works.
11. Pittsburgh: The last time Pitt was in this position, a guy named Dan Marino was playing quarterback.
12. Boise State: Broncos will get two weeks to prepare for the most difficult game of the schedule: at UNLV.
The projected CFP schedule
Conference champions with byes: Texas, Oregon, Miami, BYU
First-round games
No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State
No. 11 Pittsburgh at No. 6 Georgia
No. 10 LSU at No. 7 Penn State
No. 9 Clemson at No. 8 Iowa State