CFB Playoff Picture, Standings and Bracket Predictions After Week 10 of 2025-26 Season

Chaos erupted in the ACC on Saturday.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Miami Hurricanes, the top two ranked ACC schools, both suffered upset losses.

Georgia Tech's loss to the NC State Wolfpack was far more stunning than Miami's road defeat at the hands of the SMU Mustangs.

No matter the shock value, the losses mean Georgia Tech and Miami's College Football Playoff hopes took a hit.

The 8-1 Virginia Cavaliers should now be the highest-ranked ACC team in Sunday's AP poll.

The Vanderbilt Commodores also suffered a loss on Saturday to the Texas Longhorns. Diego Pavia and Co. aren't out of the at-large mix yet, but they need to finish perfect in a loaded SEC to make a legitimate case for one of the 12 playoff spots.

Georgia Tech, Miami Lose, Throw ACC Title Race Into Chaos

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Georgia Tech and Miami's road losses shook up the ACC's title race and the fight for the conference's automatic berth to the playoff.

At the start of the day, the Yellow Jackets and Hurricanes were in good positions to both qualify for the 12-team field.

After the Week 10 defeats, GT and Miami both might not sniff the 12-team field.

Miami is in more peril than Georgia Tech because it has two losses, both in league play. That makes the Hurricanes' path to the ACC Championship Game more unlikely.

Georgia Tech sits at 8-1 with three regular-season games left, one of which is a rivalry clash with the Georgia Bulldogs. A win on Thanksgiving weekend would do wonders for the Yellow Jackets' playoff resume, no matter if they make the CFB Playoff or not.

The Virginia Cavaliers are now the front-runner to earn the ACC's automatic bid. UVA owns a head-to-head win over the other top ACC contender, the Louisville Cardinals.

Virginia is the only ACC team with a perfect league record. Georgia Tech, Louisville and three others have one conference loss. The five-way tie for second not only makes the race for the ACC title game interesting, but it also puts Miami in a difficult position.

Vanderbilt's Playoff Hopes Take Hit In Road Loss To Texas

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Vanderbilt suffered a huge blow to its playoff hopes with its road defeat at the hands of Texas.

The Commodores were overwhelmed at the start by Arch Manning and Co.. They needed a late comeback effort just to make the final score look respectable.

The loss occurred at the end of a difficult stretch for Diego Pavia and Co. in which they played four Top 25 teams in a row.

Vandy went 2-2 in that stretch with the wins coming against the LSU Tigers and Missouri Tigers.

At 7-2, Vandy will be on the outside looking in at the top 12, but there's still an opportunity to finish 10-2.

Vandy must beat the Tennessee Volunteers at the end of the regular season for that to happen. A win in the rivalry game might be enough to push the Commodores back into the playoff mix.

It may be difficult to justify Vandy as a three-loss playoff team with Tennessee surging, Notre Dame on a long winning streak and a two-bid Big 12 becoming more of a reality.

Notre Dame's Playoff Case Grows Stronger

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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were Saturday's biggest winner in the CFB Playoff context.

The losses by Georgia Tech, Miami and Vanderbilt opened up a clear path for Notre Dame to be ranked inside the top 10 on Sunday.

Notre Dame is on a six-game winning streak and it has no tough games left on its remaining schedule.

A 10-2 Notre Dame team with losses to Miami and the Texas A&M Aggies will certainly get into the 12-team field.

Notre Dame's presence is a bad sign for the ACC, and potentially the Big 12, as one bid will be taken away from the power conferences vying to get multiple programs into the playoff.