Typically, the second-to-last weekend of the college football season helps clarify the playoff situation. With only a few championship games remaining, it’s easier to predict outcomes based on limited results combinations.

This year, however, that isn’t the case, even with the introduction of a 12-team playoff format. As several at-large teams have completed their regular seasons, it’s uncertain how the selection committee will rank them. Five conferences are competing for first-round byes, and the championship games will determine who advances. The influence of this weekend’s games on seedings remains unknown.

Could a second loss for Penn State and a third loss for Georgia push them behind teams that aren’t playing next week? Or might a strong performance against the top-ranked Oregon and the #2 Texas actually boost their rankings?

That’s a discussion for next week. So, what has changed in this week’s projected College Football Playoff (CFP) lineup? Texas has taken Georgia’s place as the SEC champion. SMU now represents the ACC following Miami’s loss, which eliminated them from contention. After defeating Southern California, Notre Dame has improved its seeding and will host a first-round game. Additionally, Alabama, with three losses, becomes the SEC’s fourth team in the field after narrowly defeating South Carolina based on their head-to-head matchup.

Looking at the overall postseason scenario, there are 82 teams that are bowl-eligible, ensuring that all the bowl games will feature teams that have secured at least six wins. It’s interesting how that works out.

Notes: Not every conference will meet its bowl allocations. An asterisk indicates a replacement selection. Former Pac-12 teams competing in other conferences will continue to fulfill existing Pac-12 bowl agreements until the 2025 season.