CFB Playoff Picture, Standings and Bracket Predictions After Week 9 of 2026-27 Season

The Ohio State Buckeyes became the latest top-five team to be upset during the 2026 college football season.

Ohio State fell on the road at the USC Trojans in its first game with backup quarterback Luke Fahey at the helm in place of the injured Julian Sayin.

The Buckeyes will drop from the No. 2 spot in the AP Top 25, which will pave the way for the Georgia Bulldogs to jump back up to No. 2. UGA walloped the Florida Gators on Saturday afternoon.

The top-ranked Miami Hurricanes faced another battle in ACC play, but they survived a road trip to North Carolina to remain undefeated.

The Indiana Hoosiers almost suffered the same fate as Ohio State, but they found a way to beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers in overtime to avoid a second loss.

The CFP Playoff projections are based on results and rankings after Week 9's games.

Ohio State's first game with Luke Fahey at quarterback resulted in a road loss to USC.

USC opened up a 14-3 lead by the end of the first quarter and didn't let go of the lead against the No. 2 team in the country.

The Buckeyes all of a sudden have two losses and won't have their starting quarterback, Julian Sayin, to dig them out of the hole because of his injury.

Ohio State will tumble in Sunday's rankings, but it will still be in playoff range.

The Buckeyes' margin for error is now slim with losses to USC and the Texas Longhorns on their resume.

Ohio State's clash with the Oregon Ducks next week has less buzz than it did at the start of the season, and that's probably a good thing for the Buckeyes.

Ryan Day's team can still run the table in November to get to the Big Ten Championship Game, but if it suffers one more loss, there will be serious questions about its playoff prospects.

The Indiana Hoosiers survived an upset bid at home against the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Curt Cignetti's team won in the first overtime period to move to 8-1 and remain in the race for the top four seeds.

Indiana now has three games left in the regular season to finish out at 11-1 and make the Big Ten Championship Game.

The Hoosiers are at home for two games in November and then go on the road to face the Washington Huskies. All three of those games are winnable, especially with the defense the Hoosiers have.

A one-loss Indiana team should, at minimum, be in contention for a first-round bye. It'll be in even better shape if it ends up as the Big Ten champion.

Texas Tech, BYU Bounce Back After Losses

Texas Tech and BYU both bounced back with wins on Saturday.

The Red Raiders won one of Saturday's two Top 25 clashes against the Arizona Wildcats.

Texas Tech utilized a quarterback switch with Thomas Castellanos taking over for Will Hammond.

At No. 13, Texas Tech is well positioned to be in the playoff field if it wins out. The Oklahoma State Cowboys are the only ranked team left on Tech's regular season schedule.

BYU rebounded from its loss to the UCF Knights with a home win over the Arizona State Sun Devils.

BYU's playoff hopes could come down to the Holy War against the Utah Utes next Saturday . Utah is the lone remaining unbeaten team in the Big 12.

If BYU beats Utah, the Big 12's chances of getting three teams into the playoff will increase.