Miami and BYU would be top 2 seeds on CFP bracket based on AP Top 25; Georgia would be a host
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Miami and BYU would hold the top two seeds on the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket based on The Associated Press Top 25 released Sunday and UCLA would make its first-ever appearance in the field.
The projected bracket was shuffled with Georgia’s loss to Auburn bumping the Bulldogs out of a top-four seed and the first-round bye that goes with it. Alabama and Texas dropped off the bracket with their losses and were replaced by UCLA and Tennessee.
Ohio State would move up a spot to the No. 3 seed and Notre Dame would drop a rung to No. 4. Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi and Texas Tech would host first-round games.
The five highest-ranked conference champions — from the Power Four and one from the Group of Six — will qualify for the CFP. The other seven spots will be filled by the next highest-ranked teams. One of those at-large teams will be Notre Dame if the Fighting Irish are among the top 12 in the CFP’s final rankings.
A month ago, Southeastern Conference teams held down three of the top four seeds on the projected bracket. Now the SEC’s highest-seeded team would be No. 5 Georgia.
The SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 would have three teams each on the bracket. The Atlantic Coast Conference and Pac-12 would have one each. Notre Dame would be in as an independent and Boise State would represent the Pac-12 as the top Group of Six champion.
Based on the AP rankings, the CFP would open like this:
— No. 9 seed UCLA at No. 8 Texas Tech. Winner vs. No. 1 Miami.
— No. 12 seed Boise State at No. 5 seed Georgia. Winner vs. No. 4 Notre Dame.
— No. 10 seed Utah at No. 7 Mississippi. Winner vs. No. 2 BYU.
— No. 11 seed Tennessee at No. 6 Indiana. Winner vs. No. 3 Ohio State.
The first three teams outside the bracket: Kentucky, Alabama and Houston. The Wildcats are ranked No. 12 by the AP but would get bumped by Boise State, the highest-ranked Group of Six team.
First-round games are Dec. 18 and 19, quarterfinals Dec. 30 and Jan. 1, semifinals Jan. 14 and 15 and the championship game is Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The AP will publish brackets based on the weekly Top 25 until the CFP selection committee unveils its initial rankings Nov. 3.
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Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here