CFP Playoff Bracket, Scenarios and Bowl Projections After 2026-27 Week 8 AP Rankings

The most significant changes in the AP Top 25 this season occurred in Sunday's poll.

The Miami Hurricanes are the new No. 1 team after the losses suffered by the Georgia Bulldogs and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The BYU Cougars, who beat Notre Dame at home on Saturday night, vaulted all the way up to No. 2 in Sunday's poll.

BYU is now one of three Big 12 teams inside the top 10, along with the Texas Tech Red Raiders at No. 8 and the Utah Utes at No. 10.

Notre Dame only fell two spots to No. 4, which is one spot ahead of UGA, who was the top team last week.

UGA is one of two SEC teams inside the top 10, and while that may seem like a marginal total, the first three spots outside the top 10 are occupied by SEC programs.

Miami assumed the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 after the losses suffered by Georgia and Notre Dame.

The Hurricanes had to fight hard to get out of Week 7 with an undefeated record, as the Florida State Seminoles pushed them to double overtime on Saturday night.

Miami is now 6-0 with one big game left on its schedule, a road trip to Notre Dame Stadium on November 7.

That contest will likely be a battle of top-five teams, and in Miami's case, a test of whether it can compete with one of the top programs in the sport.

In fact, the trip to South Bend is only one of two true road games left on Miami's regular-season schedule. The other is a visit to face the North Carolina Tar Heels on October 31.

At minimum, Miami should finish the regular season at 11-1. A win over Notre Dame likely means the Hurricanes go 12-0 and land the top spot in the CFB Playoff rankings.

BYU's home win over Notre Dame and the handful of losses within the top eight allowed the Cougars to vault up to No. 2.

BYU is now in fantastic shape to qualify for the CFB playoff, whether it be as the Big 12 champion, or as an at-large team.

The Cougars have one of the best wins of any team in the country and they should go 11-1 or 12-0.

BYU's biggest test will be a road trip across the state to play the Utah Utes on November 7.

Utah is a top-10 team now as well. That gives BYU the opportunity to have a pair of top-10 victories on its resume, something other contenders for a first-round bye will not have in their possession.

BYU's win was also massive for the Big 12 as a whole. Texas Tech and Utah are both inside the top 10, but they are at the back end of the top 10. BYU now has cushion to get in as an at-large if it loses to Utah, or in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Texas Tech has one Top 25 foe on its schedule, while Utah has two. There's a real chance all three of the Big 12's best teams make the playoff now given the lack of quality in the ACC as well as the parity in the SEC and Big Ten.

SEC Contenders Still Trying To Sort Themselves Out

The SEC only has Georgia and Ole Miss inside the top 10 going into Week 8.

Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama sit at Nos. 11, 12 and 13, while Texas is down to No. 19 and Florida sits at No. 20.

Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Ole Miss are tied at the top of the conference with one league loss each. Alabama and Texas already have two SEC defeats.

UGA and Ole Miss are the top-ranked teams for now, but the Rebels have to go to Austin next week to play Texas. Georgia still has to play Florida and Ole Miss.

The high amount of parity across the conference makes it difficult to decipher which teams will make the 12-team field.

That's a big benefit for teams from the other power conferences, but it also opens up the possibility for a three-loss SEC team to enter the playoff if the top programs continue to beat each other.

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