CFP Playoff Bracket, Scenarios and Bowl Projections After 2025-26 Week 11 AP Rankings
The return of the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Notre Dame Fighting Irish to the top 10 of the AP Top 25 was the most significant development for the College Football Playoff field.
Texas Tech moved up four spots ahead of its Big 12 showdown with the BYU Cougars on Saturday. Texas Tech is No. 9, while BYU is one spot ahead at No. 8.
Notre Dame now sits at No. 10 with an easy November schedule ahead of it. With the ACC now looking like a one-bid league, and the Big 12 potentially headed for that path as well, the Fighting Irish have a clear path to the playoff.
The ACC looks like a one-bid league because the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Miami Hurricanes each lost in Week 10. Both of those teams dropped out of the top 15 and now the Virginia Cavaliers are the highest-ranked ACC program.
Texas Tech Back In Top 10 Ahead of Big 12 Clash With BYU
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Texas Tech, who was a fixture in the top 10 earlier in the season, re-entered the top 10 at No. 9 on Sunday.
The Red Raiders are now just one spot behind BYU, who comes to Lubbock for a massive Big 12 showdown on Saturday.
Texas Tech needs to win more than BYU because it already has one conference loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils.
BYU is the only undefeated team left in Big 12 play. A Cougars loss in Lubbock would place BYU, Texas Tech and the Cincinnati Bearcats in a three-way tie for first place in the Big 12 standings.
BYU heads to Cincinnati on November 22, so even if the Cougars fall in Lubbock, it'll have another opportunity to beat one of the top teams in the conference.
The head-to-head battles between the three top teams in the Big 12 is a rarity in the power conferences now that each league has an abundance of programs.
The head-to-head results should also make the Big 12 Championship Game permutations much easier to figure out when it gets to that point.
Notre Dame Re-Enters Top 10, Has Clear Playoff Path
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The losses suffered by Miami, Georgia Tech and the Vanderbilt Commodores opened a very clear path for Notre Dame to qualify for the 12-team playoff.
The Fighting Irish are on a six-game winning streak and they have no ranked foes left on their schedule.
A 10-2 Notre Dame will absolutely make the playoff field with the way everything is unfolding around the Irish.
Notre Dame's presence in the top 10 will take away from any potential two-bid dreams that the ACC or Big 12 currently posseess.
The Big 12 looks more likely to put two teams into the 12-team field after Miami and Georgia Tech stumbled on Saturday.
ACC Runs Through Virginia
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Virginia is the unlikely favorite to capture the ACC's automatic bid after Week 10.
The Cavaliers are the only undefeated team in ACC play and they own a head-to-head win over the Louisville Cardinals, who are the second-highest-ranked ACC team in the AP poll.
Virginia has three winnable games left versus the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, Duke Blue Devils and Virginia Tech Hokies.
Any loss in November drops UVA into some ACC chaos since five teams, including Georgia Tech, have one loss in league play.
Louisville at No. 14 and Georgia Tech at No. 16 are the only ranked teams among the quintet with one loss in league play. Miami, still alive at No. 18, is 2-2 in league play and likely needs a miracle to reach the ACC Championship Game and qualify for the CFB Playoff.
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