Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia, Notre Dame Top Preseason CFP Bracket
A projected College Football Playoff bracket built from the AP preseason Top 25 has Texas, Indiana, Miami and Texas A&M hosting first-round games.
Ohio State, Oregon, Georgia and Notre Dame would be the top four seeds in the College Football Playoff based on the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll, with Texas, Indiana, Miami and Texas A&M hosting first-round games.
The five highest-ranked conference champions — four from the Power Four and one from the Group of Six — qualify automatically for the CFP. The remaining seven spots go to the next highest-ranked teams, including Notre Dame if the independent Fighting Irish finish among the top 12 in the CFP's final rankings.
The preseason bracket includes five teams from the Southeastern Conference, three from the Big Ten, and one each from the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Big 12, the Pac-12 and independents.
Teams seeded 5 through 12 play in the first round, with higher seeds hosting either on campus or at sites the school designates. With historic bowl tie-ins removed from the assignment process this season, the top three seeds will choose their bowl path in rank order.
First-round games are set for December 18 and 19, quarterfinals December 30 and January 1, semifinals January 14 and 15, and the championship game January 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Based on the AP rankings, the bracket would open with No. 9 Mississippi at No. 8 Texas A&M, with the winner facing No. 1 Ohio State; No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Texas, with the winner facing No. 4 Notre Dame; No. 10 Oklahoma at No. 7 Miami, with the winner facing No. 2 Oregon; and No. 11 Texas Tech at No. 6 Indiana, with the winner facing No. 3 Georgia.
The first three teams left out are LSU, Alabama and BYU. LSU, ranked No. 11 by the AP, would be bumped by Texas Tech and Boise State. Texas Tech is the highest-ranked Big 12 team, while Boise State — not in the AP Top 25 but the top vote-getter among Group of Six teams — would be the automatic qualifier from the revamped Pac-12.
The AP will publish updated brackets weekly until the CFP selection committee releases its initial rankings on November 3.
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), in accordance with our editorial policy.
