College football’s rivalry weekend has already produced an upset that will shake up the College Football Playoff standings.
The third-place Texas A&M Aggies fell to the Texas Longhorns, a loss that cost A&M a chance to play in the SEC championship game.
The Alabama Crimson Tide can confirm their spot alongside the Georgia Bulldogs in Atlanta next week if they beat the Auburn Tigers on Saturday night.
A&M should still have a top-eight seed and host a first-round matchup, but Friday’s loss likely cost it a first-round bye.
This is good news for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, who started the week at No. 5. The favorite to win the Big 12 could easily finish in the top four after A&M’s loss.
CFB Playoff Bracket Projection
No. 12 Tulane vs. No. 5 Oregon
No. 11 Virginia vs. No. 6 Ole Miss
No. 10 Alabama vs. No. 7 Texas A&M
No. 9 Notre Dame vs. No. 8 Oklahoma
Texas A&M didn’t look great in the second half of its loss to Texas. This should force the Aggies to drop a few spots in the CFB playoff standings on Tuesday.
Mike Elko’s team is still scheduled to host a first-round game, but now has one more game to play to reach the playoff final.
Texas Tech is favored to beat the West Virginia Mountaineers on Saturday and then the BYU Cougars in the Big 12 Championship Game.
Two more wins for the Red Raiders should put them in the top four since the teams directly below them in the standings likely won’t play next weekend.
The Oregon Ducks still have a chance to make the Big Ten championship game, but they need the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes to lose to the Michigan Wolverines for that to be a possibility.
Oregon will at least enter a home playoff game if it beats the Washington Huskies on the road Saturday.
Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss Rebels already accomplished that goal with Friday’s win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
The SEC championship will likely pit Alabama against Georgia. That would start the conversation about what to do with Alabama if they lose in Atlanta.
Kalen DeBoer’s team is 9-2 with a bad loss to the Florida State Seminoles in Week 1 and another loss to a likely playoff team in the Oklahoma Sooners.
Alabama has beaten Georgia and three other Top 25 teams, but a loss in Atlanta would give it three losses.
The committee should then determine the importance of playing in a conference championship game. Alabama could stay in the top 10 with a loss as a reward for reaching this point in the season.
The most realistic scenario is that Alabama falls out of the top 10, and if BYU loses to Texas Tech, that will open the door for the Miami Hurricanes.
Miami’s head-to-head victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish doesn’t matter in the rankings yet, but if the two teams are directly next to each other in the final rankings, it could cause a flip between the two teams at Nos. 9 and 10.
Miami needs a win Saturday against the Pittsburgh Panthers and a little help just to advance to the ACC championship game, so for now, its best chance to make the playoffs is through the final at-large position.
