PFF Top 25: SEC Crowding Heats up CFP Race for Final Spots

WHO:

ESPN - Duke, Illinois, Arizona and Connecticut were among the teams projected in the top five of CBS Sports’ 2026–27 men’s college basketball preseason rankings.

CBS Sports - Florida’s returning players included Thomas Haugh, Rueben Chinyelu, Alex Condon, Boogie Fland, Urban Klavzar and Isaiah Brown; Denzel Aberdeen was expected to start if cleared for a fifth year.

CBS Sports - Florida was identified as a playoff “enigma”; a win over Georgia would give the Gators victories over Ole Miss, Texas and Georgia.

ESPN - Virginia Tech tight end Luke Reynolds and UCLA safety Malik Hartford were cited as prospects whose evaluations strengthened after Week 8.

ESPN - New Mexico was identified as the next-best Group of 6 playoff candidate after Boise State, with a 20% chance to reach the playoff.

ESPN - Oregon State wide receiver Jesse Legree leads the nation with 1,040 receiving yards, 14 touchdown catches and 148.6 receiving yards per game.

CBS Sports - Oregon fired offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer.

CBS Sports - Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said he considered benching quarterback Josh Hoover, who completed 8 of 18 passes for 81 yards with one interception against Michigan.

PFF - PFF’s Top 25 entering Week 9 of the 2026 season included Miami, Ohio State, Georgia, Utah, Indiana, UCLA, BYU, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Texas, Ole Miss and Boise State in the top 12.

PFF - Wisconsin and New Mexico entered the rankings; BYU and Texas Tech fell after Week 8 upsets.

CBS Sports - The projected 12-team College Football Playoff field included Miami, Georgia, Ohio State, Utah, Indiana, UCLA, BYU, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Texas, Ole Miss and Boise State.

CBS Sports - Other teams discussed as playoff contenders or near-contenders included Alabama, LSU, Wake Forest, Texas Tech, Tennessee, SMU, Northwestern, Nebraska, Oregon, USC and Iowa.

CBS Sports - Miami quarterback Darian Mensah and receiver Malachi Toney were identified as Heisman Trophy candidates. Georgia coach Kirby Smart, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti, and Kentucky coach Will Stein were also named.

WHAT:

CBS Sports - In its latest projection, CBS Sports listed Miami, Georgia, Ohio State and Utah as conference champions, with Utah replacing BYU as Big 12 champion; the first-round matchups were Boise State at Indiana, Ole Miss at UCLA, Texas at BYU and Notre Dame at Kentucky.

ESPN - The playoff projection gave first-round byes to Miami, Ohio State, Georgia and BYU, and listed Boise State at Notre Dame, Ole Miss at Indiana, Texas at Utah and Kentucky at UCLA in the first round.

ESPN - ESPN’s bubble watch listed SMU as a team “too early to tell” in the ACC and Arizona in the same category in the Big 12; it listed Florida on the wrong side of the SEC bubble.

ESPN - ESPN said UCLA should improve to 7-0 by beating Nevada on Halloween, while road games at Minnesota and Michigan would test the Bruins’ offense.

Bleacher Report - Week 9 predictions were Texas Tech over Arizona 30-27, Georgia over Florida 31-23, Oregon over Northwestern 21-19, Miami over North Carolina 34-24, and Ohio State at USC as a matchup without a stated prediction.

CBS Sports - Florida was ranked No. 1 in the 2026–27 preseason college basketball rankings, with Duke No. 2, Illinois No. 3, Arizona No. 4 and Connecticut No. 5.

CBS Sports - The preseason ranking described a planned 76-team national college basketball tournament for the 2026–27 season.

CBS Sports - The projection placed Ohio State at No. 3, Indiana at No. 5, UCLA at No. 6, BYU at No. 7, Kentucky at No. 8, Notre Dame at No. 9, Texas at No. 10 and Ole Miss at No. 11.

CBS Sports - The projected first-round games were Boise State at Indiana, Ole Miss at UCLA, Texas at BYU, and Notre Dame at Kentucky.

CBS Sports - Quarterfinal pairings were Miami against the Kentucky–Notre Dame winner, Georgia against the BYU–Texas winner, Ohio State against the UCLA–Ole Miss winner, and Utah against the Indiana–Boise State winner.

ESPN - The Allstate Playoff Predictor gave Miami a 97.4% playoff chance, compared with the 98.2% figure in the CBS Sports projection.

ESPN - Miami’s opponents had won 64.1% of their games, ranking No. 31; Miami ranked No. 3 in ESPN’s strength-of-record metric.

ESPN - Utah had earned its first win over a ranked opponent and its first win over a team with a winning record.

ESPN - Georgia’s schedule strength ranked No. 34 nationally and last in the SEC; its chance to reach the SEC title game was 69.2%, followed by Kentucky at 32.8%.

CBS Sports - Kentucky quarterback Kenny Minchey had completed 69% of his passes for 1,755 yards, 14 touchdowns and one interception.

CBS Sports - LSU beat Mississippi State and Auburn by a combined 69-17; Sam Leavitt was nearing full health, and tight end Trey’Dez Green had returned.

CBS Sports - The projection listed Miami, Ohio State, Georgia and BYU as the four first-round byes, with BYU seeded fourth as Big 12 champion.

CBS Sports - The projected first-round matchups were Boise State at Notre Dame, Ole Miss at Indiana, Texas at Utah, and Kentucky at UCLA.

ESPN - Arizona had the fourth-best chance to reach the Big 12 title game, behind Utah, BYU and Texas Tech; it had no win over a ranked opponent.

ESPN - Notre Dame’s remaining schedule strength ranked No. 47; its overall strength of schedule ranked No. 41.

ESPN - Georgia ranked No. 3 nationally in total efficiency and No. 34 in strength of schedule, last in the SEC.

CBS Sports - The projected SEC playoff range was 3–5 teams; the article cited an Associated Press Top 25 with Georgia at No. 3, four SEC teams ranked No. 9–12, and three ranked No. 15–17.

ESPN - Miami had a 97.4% playoff probability, scored 49 points per game (No. 1 nationally), allowed 15.3 points per game (No. 11), and ranked No. 3 in ESPN’s strength-of-record metric.

ESPN - SMU beat Cal 59-20 for its fourth consecutive win; its remaining games were against Wake Forest and Notre Dame.

ESPN - Utah’s schedule strength ranked No. 89 and last in the Big 12; Arizona’s ranked No. 76 and No. 14 in the conference.

ESPN - UCLA ranked No. 18 in total efficiency and No. 41 in offensive efficiency; backup quarterback Ty Dieffenbach had two touchdown passes and one interception in two starts.

ESPN - Georgia had a 69.2% chance to reach the SEC title game; Kentucky had a 32.8% chance.

ESPN - Boise State had a 47.6% playoff probability; Oregon State’s schedule strength ranked No. 73, Boise State’s No. 88, and New Mexico’s remaining schedule strength No. 107.

PFF - Miami quarterback Darian Mensah recorded a 92.5 overall PFF grade.

CBS Sports - Utah moved into the Big 12’s driver’s seat after beating Houston; it was scheduled to face Cincinnati next, then BYU and Arizona.

CBS Sports - SMU was described as a dark-horse playoff contender, with games against Notre Dame and Wake Forest offering opportunities for marquee wins.

CBS Sports - James Madison, Boise State’s main competition for the Group of Six playoff spot, lost, strengthening Boise State’s position.

CBS Sports - Georgia coach Kirby Smart said, “Humility is a week away as we saw today,” after Georgia beat Alabama; Georgia then lost at home to Auburn.

CBS Sports - A CBS Sports forecast projected UCLA could be 10-0 before visiting Michigan, and described a 12-0 UCLA season as possible.

CBS Sports - Notre Dame’s playoff outlook was framed around its games against Miami and SMU: winning both would put the Irish in the top four, while losing both would leave them out.

CBS Sports - Texas’s remaining opponents were Mississippi State, Missouri on the road, LSU on the road, Arkansas and Texas A&M.

CBS Sports - Kentucky was set to face Tennessee after a bye; Texas was also listed among the teams just missing the projected playoff field.

PFF - Miami ranked No. 1, Ohio State No. 2 and Georgia No. 3; Wisconsin, Boise State and New Mexico entered PFF’s Top 25.

CBS Sports - Miami beat Pittsburgh 52-23; Georgia lost at home to Auburn; Indiana beat Michigan 13-6; BYU lost to UCF in double overtime; and Ole Miss lost on the road to Texas.

CBS Sports - Miami was projected to have 98.2% playoff odds. Indiana’s odds were 94.8%; UCLA’s were 37.1%; BYU’s were 45%; and Texas’s were 49%. Oregon had 5% odds, Northwestern 15.8%, and Nebraska 12.4%.

CBS Sports - The projected conference ranges were SEC 3–5 playoff teams, Big Ten 2–3, ACC 1–2 and Big 12 1–2. The article said the SEC could receive four bids and that Miami was the ACC’s likely bid unless Wake Forest advanced.

CBS Sports - BYU’s strength-of-schedule ranking was No. 72 and Utah’s No. 87. A projected 9-3 Ole Miss team could still make the field; Boise State would qualify if it won out.

WHERE:

CBS Sports - The projected first-round matchup was Texas at BYU.

CBS Sports - The projected first-round games were at higher seeds; quarterfinals were listed for Glendale, Atlanta, Arlington and Pasadena, and semifinals for Miami and New Orleans.

WHEN:

CBS Sports - The projected first-round games were scheduled for Dec. 18-19; semifinals were scheduled for Jan. 14 in Miami and Jan. 15 in New Orleans.

CBS Sports - The first College Football Playoff rankings were expected next week.

WHY:

CBS Sports - Florida’s frontcourt was cited as a reason for its No. 1 ranking; Haugh, Chinyelu and Condon each averaged at least 10 points, six rebounds and one block per game.

ESPN - Utah’s schedule strength ranked No. 89, last in the Big 12, while BYU’s wins over Notre Dame and Arizona could carry more weight with the selection committee.

ESPN - UCLA ranked No. 18 in total efficiency and No. 41 in offensive efficiency, despite being undefeated.

ESPN - The article said a two-loss BYU team could remain in playoff contention after losing to Utah in the Big 12 title game if BYU had beaten Utah during the regular season and also had wins over Notre Dame and Arizona.

CBS Sports - The SEC playoff picture was described as difficult for the selection committee to assess amid upsets and injuries to top players. The article said debates could focus on three-loss SEC teams versus two-loss teams from other conferences.

HOW:

ESPN - The Allstate Playoff Predictor gave Boise State a 71.4% chance to beat Oregon State and New Mexico at least an 82% chance to win each of its remaining games.

CBS Sports - The projection used playoff-odds figures and conference strength-of-schedule considerations. Ohio State’s starting quarterback Julian Sayin was out indefinitely, with backup Luke Fahey expected to start.

Miami leads the latest College Football Playoff projections, with a 97.4% chance to make the field, while Georgia, Ohio State and BYU are also projected to receive first-round byes; Boise State, Ole Miss, Texas and Notre Dame are among the teams in projected opening-round matchups. Utah has moved into the Big 12 race after beating Houston, SMU is building momentum with a fourth straight win, and New Mexico is viewed as a leading Group of Six contender, while Florida remains on the wrong side of the SEC playoff bubble. In men’s college basketball, Florida tops the preseason rankings for the 2026–27 season, ahead of Duke, Illinois, Arizona and Connecticut, with a planned 76-team national tournament.