Update at midnight ET Sunday
Imagine telling someone just a few weeks ago that UCLA would be above reigning champion Indiana in a CFP bracket, left-for-dead Oklahoma would lose to Michigan but wind up beating Texas, and Georgia’s offense is playing a big role in the Bulldogs ascending to No. 1 in just about everybody’s mind.
That’s just college football after a wild Week 6, which saw incredible results from Lexington, Ky., to Dallas and beyond to shake up the playoff picture.
Update at 4 p.m. ET Saturday
If you thought this was just going to be a straightforward Saturday, you would be mistaken.
After the first window of games, we saw Florida drop out of the College Football Playoff projection following its struggles against South Carolina in the Swamp, Indiana slide down a few spots after barely escaping Lincoln, Neb., with a victory and a host of other one-loss SEC teams get bumped up far enough to host nearly every first-round game on campus. Given the matchups on tap the rest of the day, the CFP picture should change plenty more over the course of the next few hours.
Update at noon ET Saturday
There’s been an understandable focus on figuring out the SEC pecking order going into this weekend, and Saturday should bring plenty of clarity as to which teams are firmly in the College Football Playoff hunt and which ones are simply hanging on given the number of losses attached to their record. There will be a particular focus paid to the conditions in Tuscaloosa, Ala., an upset alert thrown up in Dallas for Red River and maybe even some separation coming further north in the Big Ten between some of the other playoff contenders. That should make for an incredible day in the sport given the number of interesting games worth watching.
With that in mind, here’s how the bracket looks going into Week 6 before it’s set to shift significantly throughout a busy Saturday in the sport.
Live Week 6 College Football Playoff Bracket
- Georgia
- Notre Dame
- Ohio State
- Miami
- Alabama
- Texas
- Mississippi
- UCLA
- Indiana
- Missouri
- BYU
- Boise State
First Round
- No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Alabama
- No. 11 BYU at No. 6 Texas
- No. 10 Missouri at No. 7 Mississippi
- No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 UCLA
Quarterfinals
- Fiesta Bowl: No. 4 Miami vs. winner of No. 12 Boise State vs. No. 5 Alabama
- Rose Bowl: No. 3 Ohio State vs. winner of No. 11 BYU vs. No. 6 Texas
- Cotton Bowl: No. 2 Notre Dame vs. winner of No. 10 Missouri vs. No. 7 Mississippi
- Peach Bowl: No. 1 Georgia vs. winner of No. 9 Indiana vs. No. 8 UCLA
No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Alabama
Don’t just assume a cakewalk in the Pac-12 for Boise State this season, with much of the league looking quite capable of winning on any given Saturday. That includes a tricky test on Saturday night against a dangerous Fresno State team that is more than capable of handing the Broncos another loss. As for the Crimson Tide, that was a tough loss to take at home given the tiebreaker implications on getting to Atlanta for the SEC title game. Fans will certainly lament a few missed opportunities (and a few questionable calls), but you might also have to walk away from the first loss of the season thinking this group is actually still well-positioned to win in the CFP.
No. 11 BYU at No. 6 Texas
It has not been particularly pretty the last few weeks for the Cougars, who can finally turn their full attention to a highly anticipated meeting with Notre Dame after dispatching Iowa State on Friday night. Injury concerns are paramount for Kalani Sitake’s team given how disjointed the offense looks without tailback LJ Martin and all the hoopla that is going to come with the Irish looming on the horizon. On the other side of this Steve Sarkisian Bowl, the Longhorns have lots to correct when they get back to Austin after giving that game away to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry. The résumé, and that big win over Ohio State still counts plenty, but we probably saw a group that is closer to a CFP contender than a national title favorite in Dallas on Saturday.
No. 10 Missouri at No. 7 Mississippi
Missouri had no hangover from its big win last weekend over Florida and can go from complaints about the ranking next to its name to a legitimate chance to make the CFP after it trounced Texas A&M. Upcoming opponent Ole Miss did the same against Vanderbilt, making a long weekend in Nashville that much more fun for its fans as they jumped on the Commodores and didn’t seem to stop until late in the final quarter.
No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 UCLA
Do we have any better idea at just what the ceiling is for this Indiana side after it needed an incredible comeback to hold off Nebraska on the road? Probably not even as the reigning champ remains in the ranks of the unbeaten. In the case of UCLA though, we certainly have a much more accurate gauge on the Bruins after they survived the trip to Autzen Stadium and left as this week’s biggest winner.
Fiesta Bowl: No. 4 Miami
The focus this weekend for the Hurricanes was on getting healthy, a big key for a group which looks like the class of the ACC by a country mile at this point. If they don’t win the league for the first time, especially with the win over Wake Forest already in their pockets, then they might never do so.
Rose Bowl: No. 3 Ohio State
Jeremiah Smith’s Heisman stock continued to rise in a rout of Maryland on Saturday, catching four passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns. The Buckeyes have a big test looming next week at Indiana.
Cotton Bowl: No. 2 Notre Dame
It’s a great sign for the Irish that they’re looking even more dominant by the week after running right over poor Stanford on Saturday afternoon. Now comes the real test in Provo, Utah, against BYU where Notre Dame finally faces off against a team in a similar weight class.
Peach Bowl: No. 1 Georgia
Consider the monkey off Kirby Smart’s back as the Bulldogs finally beat Alabama in the regular season and in Tuscaloosa to boot. This not only looks like one of the most complete teams Georgia has fielded since the Bulldogs won it all a few years ago, but now take up the mantle as the team to beat in college football.
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