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College Football Playoff predictions: Projection who would make 12-team field after Week 10

john leuzzi, usa today network
·4-min read

The College Football Playoff field was bound to get shaken up eventually, after relativity calm last two weeks of no major upsets.

So it happened to come in Week 10, the same week leading into the first release of the College Football Playoff rankings.

Though the top three seeds weren't altered from the US LBM Coaches Poll, the post-Week 10 College Football Playoff predictions saw a change in the automatic bid from the Big 12 and several teams in the middle of the pack saw their seedings change.

REQUIRED READING: Ohio State win, Iowa State loss headline college football Week 10 winners and losers

Iowa State fell from No. 10 in the US LBM Coaches Poll after losing to Texas Tech at home on Saturday on a late-game touchdown from Red Raiders quarterback Behren Morton. The Cyclones' loss means BYU moved into the top spot for the conference, as the Cougars are now the No. 9 in the country in the Coaches Poll.

Oregon, Georgia and Miami all continue to be in the driver's seat for the Big Ten, SEC and ACC, respectively, after all three programs outscored their Week 10 opponents by a combined score of 125-68.

As for the at-large bids in the post-Week 10 predictions, there was also a shake-up. Ohio State moved up to the No. 5 seed after taking down then-No. 3 Penn State in Happy Valley on Saturday. Texas and Tennessee also were bumped up a spot as a result of Penn State's falling to No. 7 in the Coaches Poll. Dark-horse Indiana is now in possession of the No. 10 seed, while Kalen DeBoer's Alabama Crimson Tide moved back into the 12-team field for the No. 11 seed after Texas A&M was upset by South Carolina.

Here's the latest CFP predictions after Week 10 of the college football season:

College Football Playoff predictions after Week 10

Seedings are based on this week's US LBM Coaches Poll and rules of the College Football Playoff format:

  1. Oregon *

  2. Georgia *

  3. Miami *

  4. BYU *

  5. Ohio State

  6. Texas

  7. Tennessee

  8. Penn State

  9. Notre Dame

  10. Indiana

  11. Alabama

  12. Boise State **

 * Receives first-round bye, automatic bid

** Receives automatic bid

There was no movement for the top spot from the Big Ten, SEC and ACC as Oregon, Georgia and Miami all won their Week 10 games. Boise State remains the No. 12 seed as the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion.

Ohio State topped Penn State for the second-highest team in the Big Ten, moving up from the No. 6 seed to No. 5 after beating the Nittany Lions Saturday.

The biggest change from last week to this week took place in the Big 12. With a loss to Texas Tech on Saturday, Iowa State moved out of the top spot (and the entire field) for the Big 12 with undefeated No. 9 BYU taking it over. As a result of the Cyclones moving out, Alabama moved back into the field at the No. 11 spot — not a bad week or result for the Crimson Tide, who were on the bye.

REQUIRED READING: Heisman watch: Who are the frontrunners for the Heisman Trophy after Week 10?

Projected CFP bracket after Week 10

If the season were to end today, here's a look at what the matchups in the first-round would be:

  • No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Boise State

  • No. 6 Texas vs. No. 11 Alabama

  • No. 7 Tennessee vs. No. 10 Indiana

  • No. 8 Penn State vs. No. 9 Notre Dame

From there, the winner of the winner of Ohio State-Boise State would play No. 4 BYU in the quarterfinals, while the winner of No. 6-No. 11 will face No. 3 Miami. No. 2 Georgia will play the winner of No. 7 Tennessee-No. 10 Indiana. No. 1 Oregon would play the winner of No. 8 Penn State-No. 9 Notre Dame.

College Football Playoff dates, schedule

The first round of the College Football Playoff will take place between Friday, Dec. 20 and Saturday, Dec. 21. The College Football Playoff national championship game will take place on Monday, Jan. 20 in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Here is a full list of dates for the College Football Playoff:

  • First round: Friday, Dec. 20-Saturday, Dec. 21

  • Quarterfinals: Tuesday, Dec. 31-Wednesday, Jan. 1

  • Semifinals: Thursday, Jan. 9-Friday, Jan. 10

  • National championship: Monday, Jan. 20

REQUIRED READING: Hold off on Ryan Day hot takes, because Ohio State owns Penn State, James Franklin. Again

College Football Playoff ranking dates

The first of six College Football Playoff rankings will be released tomorrow, Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Here is a list of full dates for the release of College Football Playoff rankings:

All times Eastern

  • Tuesday, Nov. 5: 7 p.m.

  • Tuesday, Nov. 12: 8:30 p.m.

  • Tuesday, Nov. 19: 7 p.m.

  • Tuesday, Nov. 26: 8 p.m.

  • Tuesday, Dec. 3: 7 p.m.

  • Sunday, Dec. 8: Noon

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College Football Playoff predictions, projections after Week 10