2025 Bowl Predictions and Projecting CFP Playoff Bracket Field After Week 11 Games

Two of the races for College Football Playoff automatic bids were shook up in Week 11.

The ACC had two more upsets to its top teams, as the Virginia Cavaliers and Louisville Cardinals each stumbled at home.

The ACC is still wide open, and after Saturday, there's a better chance for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets to bounce back and earn the automatic bid.

Down in the Group of Five, the Memphis Tigers fell to the Tulane Green Wave. Memphis and Tulane are two of a handful of teams in the American Athletic Conference fighting to make the 12-team playoff.

The handful of losses suffered by The American's top teams opened the door for the James Madison Dukes to potentially win the Sun Belt and the G5 automatic bid.

ACC Title Race Takes Another New Turn

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Virginia and Louisville spent just one week at the forefront of the ACC title race.

The Nos. 14 and 15 teams in the CFB Playoff rankings suffered home defeats on Saturday night.

Virginia lost quarterback Chandler Morris in the first half and failed to move the ball against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Louisville was pushed to overtime by the California Golden Bears and eventually fell in the extra period.

Virginia, Georgia Tech, the Pittsburgh Panthers and SMU Mustangs are all 5-1 in league play, while the Duke Blue Devils are 4-1 in conference action.

Louisville is in a tough spot along with the Miami Hurricanes with two conference defeats.

Virginia visits Duke in Week 12 and then Louisville faces SMU and Pittsburgh takes on Georgia Tech in Week 13.

Pitt and Georgia Tech also have one other playoff contender left on their schedules. Pitt faces the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Week 12. Georgia Tech takes on the Georgia Bulldogs in Week 14.

The Georgia Tech-Pitt winner might have the inside track to the ACC's automatic bid, especially if Pitt beats Notre Dame or GT knocks off UGA.

The good news for the ACC is that head-to-head results will help make up a clearer picture of the conference title race over the next few weeks, which is something that always can't be said in the era of expanded conferences.

Memphis' Loss Opens Up Group of Five Competition

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The race for the Group of Five's playoff bid is as chaotic, if not more, as the ACC's situation.

Memphis' Friday loss to Tulane dropped the Tigers to a two-loss team in conference play. There might not be a path forward to the playoff for Memphis since five teams have one league loss in The American.

The South Florida Bulls still have the best G5 resume thanks to their wins over the Boise State Broncos and Florida Gators. They lost to Memphis, but if they beat the Navy Midshipmen in Week 12, they will have another quality win.

Tulane will be in the G5 mix because it has three winnable games down the stretch and should finish 10-2.

At 8-1, the North Texas Mean Green are in the mix, but they lost 63-36 to USF, so as long as USF is in the playoff mix, it's hard to justify North Texas' position.

With all the losses in the American, there is a chance James Madison wins the Sun Belt and then takes the G5 bid.

JMU is 8-1 and should cruise to the Sun Belt Championship Game. The Dukes' biggest issue is if they are compared to South Florida because USF has the better non-conference wins.

However, if Tulane, Navy or North Texas win the American, JMU resides in a more equal playing field and could make the case to be the top-ranked G5 team.