The conference champions saw a new addition to their quartet with two teams now in consideration for the No. 4 seed. As for five through twelve, only one team left the field with two new options in its place.
The SEC continues to lead in total number of playoff berths with four to five despite the one loss. Depending on the projection, the Big Ten is next with two or four. The ACC then has one to two while the Big 12 continues to have only one team in as their conference champion at No. 4.
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Here’s how the playoff field and bowl season is projected per the latest this weekend from ESPN:
After each having Georgia at No. 5 last week, Bonagura and Schlabach replaced the Bulldogs with two other teams from their conference in Alabama and Texas respectively.
As for their selections from the Group of Five, neither changed their No. 12 seed with James Madison for one and UNLV for the other.
Schlabach still has the Tigers and Volunteers playing in Knoxville in the opening round. He just has it in a different slot this week with it being the No. 7-No. 10 matchup rather than at No. 6-No. 11.
Bonagura has his as a game between teams in the Big Ten with the Wolverines going to play the Ducks in Eugene.
In the Fiesta Bowl, Bonagura and Schlabach have their respective No. 5 seeds, the Crimson Tide and the Longhorns, advancing to play in Glendale.
They’d play the winner of the Big 12 Championship with both experts projecting new teams at No. 4. One has an all-new selection to the field in BYU while the other brought back Kansas State.
Much like the Fiesta Bowl, it’ll be a team from the Southeastern Conference playing in the Peach Bowl as the No. 6.
As for the champion out of the ACC, Miami remains the selection for both writers despite their last-second close call this weekend to open league play.
The Rose Bowl will feature the winner of the Big Ten Championship in Ohio State at No. 2.
For Bonagura, that means a rematch from the regular season in the Oregon Ducks. For Schlabach, that now will lead to a matchup between them and the Tennessee Volunteers in Pasadena.
Regardless of the seeding, Alabama and Texas would then meet for both experts in the Orange Bowl.
The Crimson Tide and Longhorns have played in each of the past two regular seasons and split those games while both reached the four-team field last year with neither advancing. With this, though, only one could move on to play for the national title.
Ohio State would move on to play in the semifinals in the Cotton Bowl from Arlington.
Bonagura has the same matchup for them against Tennessee but a round later after the quarterfinals. Schlabach instead has it as a rematch from the Peach Bowl in the playoff two seasons ago between the Buckeyes and the Bulldogs.
CFP National Championship
(Adam Cairns | Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY NETWORK)
As for the title game projections, Bonagura and Schlabach have all of the same four teams listed from last week but in different seeds and orders.
Bongura still has the Longhorns at No. 1 with them now meeting the No. 2 seed in Ohio State. Schlabach then has a rematch from this past weekend’s classic with Georgia, now as his No. 6 seed, playing Alabama as his new No. 1.
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