Utah and Notre Dame have moved into the top four seeds of a hypothetical 12-team College Football Playoff bracket, according to the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll released Sunday. They join Miami and Georgia, who remain the top two seeds.
The shuffle in the top four follows losses by Ohio State at Southern California and Indiana's slip in the rankings after an overtime victory against Minnesota. Miami holds the No. 1 seed, followed by No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Utah, and No. 4 Notre Dame. The top four seeds would receive first-round byes in the expanded playoff format.
The College Football Playoff will qualify the five highest-ranked conference champions, one from the Power Four and one from the Group of Six, along with the seven next-highest-ranked teams. Notre Dame would secure an at-large spot if it remains among the top 12 teams in the CFP's final rankings on December 6.
Based on the current AP rankings, the Southeastern Conference would have the most teams represented with four, followed by the Big Ten with three. The Big 12 would have two teams, and the Atlantic Coast Conference and Pac-12 would each have one.
A potential first-round matchup would pit No. 9 seed Alabama against No. 8 Kentucky, with the winner advancing to face No. 1 seed Miami. In another potential first-round game, No. 12 seed Boise State would play No. 5 seed UCLA, with the winner facing No. 4 seed Notre Dame.
Other projected first-round matchups include No. 10 seed Texas against No. 7 BYU, and No. 11 seed Ohio State facing No. 6 Indiana. The winners of these games would advance to play No. 2 seed Georgia and No. 3 seed Utah, respectively.
The teams immediately outside the projected bracket are Mississippi, Texas Tech, and Wake Forest. Despite being ranked No. 12 by the AP, Mississippi would be bumped by Boise State, the highest-ranked champion from the Group of Six conferences.
The initial CFP rankings are scheduled to be released Tuesday night, with subsequent rankings released weekly until the final bracket is determined on December 6. First-round games are slated for December 18 and 19, with quarterfinals on December 30 and January 1. The semifinals will take place on January 14 and 15, and the championship game is scheduled for January 25 in Las Vegas.