Georgia Projected No. 1 in CFP Field After Miami Falls at Notre Dame
Georgia is projected to top the College Football Playoff field after Week 10, with undefeated Utah close behind. Ohio State falls out after a third loss, while two-loss Alabama holds a spot ahead of the selection committee's second ranking.
Georgia is projected to take the top spot in the College Football Playoff (CFP) field after Week 10 of the college football season, according to a projection of what the selection committee might do. Miami lost at Notre Dame, and Ohio State no longer looks like a playoff team. For anyone searching kalshi.com for where the race stands, that is the picture heading into the committee's second ranking.
The committee is due to release that ranking Tuesday night. Its first ranking drew reactions ranging from shock to outrage, but Week 10 made it look better than critics said.
Who moves up
Ohio State was ranked No. 12 in the first ranking. After its third loss of the season, the Buckeyes would not make the field. Two-loss Alabama, meanwhile, beat LSU soundly at Tiger Stadium.
Miami's loss to Notre Dame, combined with Georgia's win at Ole Miss, lifts the Bulldogs to No. 1. Georgia's October 10 win at Alabama looks stronger now that the committee has called the Tide its top two-loss team.
Notre Dame earned what the projection calls the best win of the season by beating then-No. 1 Miami.
Georgia's path
Georgia has one of the worst losses among contenders: a home defeat to unranked Auburn on October 17. It also has the best chance of any SEC team to reach the conference title game.
Next come back-to-back games against CFP top-25 opponents, Missouri and South Carolina. The November 21 trip to South Carolina is the toughest remaining game. The Gamecocks have won four straight and visit Arkansas in Week 11.
Utah's case
Utah is undefeated and beat the committee's No. 9 team, BYU, on Saturday. The Utes also beat Houston last month. The projection says the win probably knocked BYU out of the top 12.
Committee chair Hunter Yurachek said Utah and UCLA, also undefeated, have résumés that are "almost identical." He said Utah was "above UCLA and just a better team when we watch them play."
Yurachek called Utah "very balanced offensively" and praised quarterback Devon Dampier as "a dynamic passer."
There is a counterargument. Utah entered Week 10 with the No. 81 strength of schedule, according to ESPN Analytics, well below Alabama and Texas, both in the top 10. Some committee members might prefer Alabama's eye test and résumé.
Texas Tech is Utah's most likely opponent in the Big 12 title game. If Utah wins out in the regular season, it would almost certainly finish in the top 12 on Selection Day, even with a loss in that game. A loss at Arizona combined with no Big 12 title would open the door for debate.
Five SEC teams sat in the committee's first top 10. The Week 10 results suggest the committee may not have been wrong about that either.
