Well, if the College Football Playoff started after just one week of the college football season, the field would look drastically different than it did when the Associated Press dropped its initial preseason poll. A lot has been shaken up over the last few days, with Florida State’s jump from unranked all the way to No. 14 being the most alarming move by voters in Week 2's edition.
Alabama, understandably, took a massive hit, falling toward the bottom of the poll. Florida State wasn’t the only debut, while Clemson and Notre Dame also took a tumble after season-opening losses. There's obviously still a ton of football left to be played, but what can we divine about how the Playoff field is already shaping up? Here’s a look at who would get it if the season ended just as quickly as it started.
CFP projections: Here’s who’s in based on the Week 2 AP top 25 poll
- Ohio State Buckeyes (B1G champ)
- Penn State Nittany Lions (at-large)
- LSU Tigers (SEC champ)
- Georgia Bulldogs (at-large)
- Miami Hurricanes (ACC champ)
- Oregon Ducks (at-large)
- Texas Longhorn (at-large)
- Clemson Tigers (at-large)
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (at-large)
- South Carolina Gamecocks (at-large)
- Arizona State (Big 12 champ)
- South Florida (AAC champ)
Boise State gets knocked out of the playoff and the poll after a miserable showing against South Florida to kickoff the Broncos’ season. With that win, the Bulls are now the leading candidate for the fifth conference champion's spot, leading all G6 teams with 25 votes in this week's AP poll.
That said, Tulane, Liberty, James Madison, Navy and Memphis all received at least two votes to get ranked so as the season progresses, that’s destined to change. Texas was bumped down significantly from a first-round bye to the No. 7 seed and now would be projected to host a first-round game.
Clemson was also knocked out of a first-round bye slot following a 17-10 home loss to LSU. Here’s a look at the first four teams out of the CFP.
11. Illinois Fighting Illini (1-0)
13. Florida Gators (1-0)
14. Florida State Seminoles (1-0)
15. Michigan Wolverines (1-0)
The biggest riser was Florida State making its 2025 debut at No. 14. I think that’s a bit drastic considering this team went 2-10 last year as a preseason top-10 squad. Florida and Michigan each defeated their more inferior opponents in Week 1 and are still on the cusp of a playoff spot.
Updated College Football Playoff bracket after Week 2 AP poll release
Byes
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- LSU Tigers
- Georgia Bulldogs
First Round matchups
- No. 12 South Florida at No. 5 Miami (FL)
- No. 11 Arizona State at No. 6 Oregon
- No. 10 South Carolina at No. 7 Texas
- No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Clemson
If only the College Football Playoff did start this weekend, man would we get some killer matchups. Based on what we saw Week 1, we might see some crazy upsets in the first round: I have full faith in South Carolina to take down Texas after Arch Manning’s frustrating start. I also think Arizona State could test Oregon if they were to play in the first round as well.
That said, this is an interesting field. While things are certain to change before the first CFP rankings are released, Week 1 is proof that this season has a lot in store. Alabama took the biggest hit of any team, dropping to No. 21 in the polls. They’ll have an uphill battle to get back in the good graces of the AP voters before they even get to conference play.
This lessens the margin of error for Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide. Ty Simpson didn’t look great in his first start at all. That will have to change if Bama wants to avoid a second straight season without a CFP appearance and add further scrutiny to the post-Nick Saban era.
There’s a lot to unpack from Week 1, but the biggest takeaway is to not overreact. The season just started, which is why it’s fun to look at the CFP; but put into perspective that this is far from final. Just like after the preseason poll, I’m sure next week’s AP poll will look just as different as the previous one.