College Football Playoff

Miami will have to show it the rest of the way, but nearing midseason, Mario Cristobal's squad looks unstoppable. Saturday's muscle-flex at Florida State was another elite showing from the Hurricanes and pushed them to top-seed billing in our Week 7 College Football Playoff projection.

It's goodbye for now to Penn State and Texas following stunning losses from two of the nation's top 10 teams. Indiana's path for a return playoff appearance widened with the Nittany Lions' loss and two others have joined the mix from the SEC and ACC as a result.

Tennessee's now one of five SEC teams in our latest bracket projection, joining Ole Miss, Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide's 30-14 win over Vanderbilt was punctuated by a late interception of Diego Pavia in the red zone as Alabama avenged last season's loss to the Commodores.

Texas, Penn State CFP paths narrow after Florida, UCLA upsets: SEC, Big Ten chaos arrives to postseason race

Brad Crawford

Where's unbeaten and fifth-ranked Oklahoma in our playoff projection? More data is needed. The Sooners play Texas next week, the first of six nationally ranked opponents down the stretch for a team with their starting quarterback and Heisman candidate on the shelf. Brent Venables doesn't expect John Mateer to play against the Longhorns after wrist surgery last month, but he has practiced and appears to be recovering quickly.

No team in the country has a more difficult second-half schedule than Oklahoma, and for that reason, for now, the Sooners are on the outside looking in for our Week 7 projection. That changes if Oklahoma gets through October unscathed.

College Football Playoff

Quarterfinals

First round

Date LocationProjectionWinner faces

Dec. 19 or 20

Jones AT&T Stadium

Lubbock, Texas

(5) Texas Tech vs. (12) South Florida

(4) Oregon

Dec. 19 or 20

Sanford Stadium

Athens, Games.

(8) Georgia vs. (9) Texas A&M

(1) Miami

Dec. 19 or 20

Bryant-Denny Stadium

Tuscaloosa, Ala.

(6) Alabama vs. (11) Georgia Tech

(3) Ole Miss

Dec. 19 or 20

Memorial Stadium

Bloomington, Ind.

(7) Indiana vs. (10) Tennessee

(2) Ohio State

Don't see your team? Check out Brad Crawford's complete bowl projections.

Projected College Football Playoff Field breakdown

1. Miami (projected ACC champion): College football's most dominant team this season? It's the Hurricanes. No squad has passed the eye test or holds a better resume than Miami through five weeks thanks to three victories over nationally ranked opponents with impressive defensive showings throughout. Carson Beck's well-executed flea flicker touchdown pass to Malachi Toney in the second quarter was a game-changer that took the Florida State faithful out of Saturday night's game, and the rout was on from there.

2. Ohio State (projected Big Ten champion): Is there a defense in the country playing as well as Matt Patricia's group? What a hire that's turning out to be from Ryan Day, who watched Jim Knowles exit to Penn State before plucking Patricia from the NFL. After Saturday's win over Minnesota, Ohio State has now held every opponent this season to single digits.

3. Ole Miss (projected SEC champion): Book those hotel rooms in Atlanta, Rebels fans. There's only two contests left against elite teams -- Georgia and Oklahoma -- and if Ole Miss splits those, Lane Kiffin should have his first SEC title game trip in the cards. That's under the assumption the Rebels don't puff their chests and stumble as a favorite against South Carolina, Florida or in the Egg Bowl against Mississippi State.

4. Oregon: Forget the No. 4 seed -- the Ducks want it all. After getting a first-round bye last season as the unbeaten Big Ten champions before losing to Ohio State in the quarterfinals, Oregon is on another quest to finish without a loss after disposing of Penn State last week ahead of its Week 7 showdown against Indiana. That's one to watch next weekend with considerable playoff and conference title hunt implications.

5. Texas Tech (projected Big 12 champion): The best quarterback room in the country may reside in Lubbock, Texas. Behren Morton returned to the lineup with a couple touchdown passes in Saturday's win against previously unbeaten Houston, but Will Hammond's ready if he's needed the rest of the way for our Big 12 favorite. Arizona State and BYU are the biggest hurdles left on the schedule.

6. Alabama: As the projected SEC runner-up at this point following the Crimson Tide's 30-14 win over Vanderbilt, that would be good enough for a top-six seed given how many ranked wins Alabama would have under its belt. The victory at Georgia could be the eventual tiebreaker that pushes Kalen DeBoer's squad to Atlanta in a few months, too.

7. Indiana: The Hoosiers were one of the biggest benefactors of Penn State's shocking loss at UCLA because it emphasized what many were wondering nearing midseason: Is Indiana actually the Big Ten's third-best team? It looks that way following the Nittany Lions' second loss. And if the Hoosiers go into Happy Valley and win on Nov. 8, they're going back to the playoff.

8. Georgia: There's another loss somewhere on the slate for the Bulldogs, but where will it happen? Maybe it comes in Starkville against an upset-minded Mississippi State team or between the hedges against Ole Miss. There's also remaining matchups with Auburn, Florida, Texas and Georgia Tech. This is a brutal slate and Georgia will have earned its playoff spot if it gets to 10 wins.

9. Texas A&M: Just win -- it doesn't have to be pretty, according to Mike Elko. His words after last week's close win over Auburn ring true in Week 6 as well after the Aggies failed to impress as a heavy home favorite against Mississippi State. To Texas A&M's credit, the defense has made major strides since giving up 40 during the win at Notre Dame and should be able to quiet Florida and Arkansas before the showdown at LSU on Oct. 25 ... unless good DJ Lagway shows up next week for the Gators at Kyle Field.

10. Tennessee: Can the Vols finish 6-1 the rest of the way with games against nationally ranked Alabama, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt left on the slate? That's the thought process here for another possible 10-2 record and first-round playoff appearance for Josh Heupel. Tennessee would love to get a first-round home game, but that opportunity was likely squandered against Georgia after failing to stop the Bulldogs late in that one.

11. Georgia Tech: It's early, but we might as well bring it up. There's a scenario in which Miami, Georgia Tech and Virginia all finish without a loss in ACC play, which would create an interesting tiebreaker of sorts for the league office to sort out. The Yellow Jackets' win over Clemson changed the season for this team, and the finale against Georgia in Atlanta is one the playoff selection committee will be watching closely during rivalry weekend.

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