College Football Playoff rankings: The first bracket prediction sets up a huge Week 10

The College Football Playoff committee has released its first rankings, and they’ve set up a big weekend of games.

Four upcoming matchups feature teams placed in the committee’s top 15. No. 1 Miami travels to South Bend to face No. 11 Notre Dame. No. 7 BYU visits No. 3 Utah in a game with major implications for both the Big 12 and the playoff race.

Elsewhere, No. 2 Georgia takes on No. 10 Ole Miss, and No. 5 Alabama heads to Baton Rouge to meet No. 14 LSU. Both teams in that SEC matchup are 6-2.

Ohio State sits at No. 12, just outside the projected playoff field, after losses to Texas and USC. Quarterback Julian Sayin is dealing with a right elbow injury and could be out for the rest of the season. Boise State, ranked No. 25, is projected as the only Group of 6 team in the playoff.

Here are the committee’s initial rankings and a hypothetical bracket based on them.

College Football Playoff rankings

1. Miami (8-0)
2. Georgia (7-1)
3. Utah (8-0)
4. Indiana (8-1)
5. Alabama (6-2)
6. Kentucky (7-1)
7. Texas (6-2)
8. UCLA (8-0)
9. BYU (7-1)
10. Ole Miss (6-2)
11. Notre Dame (7-1)
12. Ohio State (6-2)
13. Tennessee (6-2)
14. LSU (6-2)
15. Texas Tech (7-1)
16. Wake Forest (7-1)
17. Houston (6-2)
18. Missouri (6-2)
19. Iowa (6-2)
20. USC (7-2)
21. South Carolina (5-3)
22. Arizona (6-2)
23. Oregon (5-3)
24. Florida (5-3)
25. Boise State (7-1)

Hypothetical College Football Playoff bracket

If the playoff began today, the bracket would look like this:

First round

• No. 25 Boise State vs. No. 5 Alabama
• No. 11 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Kentucky
• No. 10 Ole Miss vs. No. 7 Texas
• No. 9 BYU vs. No. 8 UCLA

Quarterfinals

• Notre Dame-Kentucky winner vs. No. 3 Utah (Game 1)
• Ole Miss-Texas winner vs. No. 2 Georgia (Game 2)
• BYU-UCLA winner vs. No. 4 Indiana (Game 3)
• Boise State-Alabama winner vs. No. 1 Miami (Game 4)

Semifinals

• Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner
• Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner