CFP Playoff Bracket, Scenarios and Bowl Projections After 2025-26 Week 9 AP Rankings

The Big Ten and SEC have a hold on the top of the AP Top 25.

The top six teams in Sunday's poll play in the two power conferences. That was a result of the Miami Hurricanes' loss to the Louisville Cardinals on Friday and consequent tumble from No. 2.

Miami isn't even the highrst-ranked ACC team in the Week 9 AP poll. The undefeated Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets are two spots ahead of the Hurricanes.

The biggest story to develop from Sunday's poll release, though, was the Vanderbilt Commodores' appearance inside the top 10.

Vanderbilt is a legitimate College Football Playoff contender and it has three opportunities left against ranked teams to bolster its resume.

Georgia Tech Leaps Over Miami As ACC's Top Team

Alex Halloway/Getty Images

Georgia Tech moved into the driver's seat for the ACC's automatic berth.

The Yellow Jackets jumped five places to No. 7 in Sunday's AP Top 25. They are now two spots ahead of Miami, who fell seven spots to No. 9.

There's a good chance that Georgia Tech runs through the rest of its ACC schedule and heads into its rivalry meeting with the Georgia Bulldogs at 11-0.

Miami has a more difficult path to reach the ACC Championship Game because it has a road trip in two weeks to face the SMU Mustangs.

SMU and the Virginia Cavaliers are the other two undefeated teams in ACC play along with Georgia Tech.

Virginia doesn't play either Georgia Tech or Miami, but it has three road games left to play that could cause it trouble.

If Georgia Tech and Miami win out in ACC play, there's a strong chance two teams get into the CFB Playoff from the league, especially with plenty of losses still expected out of the top-tier teams in the SEC.

Vanderbilt Vaults Into Top 10

Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Vanderbilt moved up seven spots to No. 10 after its home win over the LSU Tigers.

The Diego Pavia-led Commodores are now 2-1 against ranked fors this season. There are three more chances for Vandy to add to that record.

Vandy will have a ton of attention on it in Week 9, as it hosts the Missouri Tigers with College GameDay in Nashville.

A win over Missouri will only add to the playoff hype around Clark Lea's team.

The other two matchups with Top 25 foes are on the road in November against the Texas Longhorns and Tennessee Volunteers.

If Vandy goes 2-1 in those games and finishes 10-2, it will be in a fantastic position to secure a spot in the 12-team field.

BYU Now in Control of Big 12

Chris Gardner/Getty Images

The BYU Cougars are now the top-ranked team in the Big 12.

BYU moved up to No. 11 after its home win over the Utah Utes.

The Cougars are on top of the Big 12 for now, but they have two massive road tests ahead against the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Cincinnati Bearcats.

Cincinnati is the only other team with an unblemished record in Big 12 play. Texas Tech was the class of the Big 12 until its loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils on Sunday.

Cincinnati has a tough road test at Utah in two weeks, and if it falls there, a ton of chaos may fall over the Big 12 if Texas Tech beats BYU.

At the moment, it feels like the Big 12 Championship Game winner will be the league's only CFB Playoff representative.

Unless two of BYU, Texas Tech, Cincinnati and Arizona State win out in league play, there doesn't seem to be a path to leap above the abundance of Big Ten and SEC teams in the top 15.