CFP Playoff Bracket, Scenarios and Bowl Projections After 2026-27 Week 10 AP Rankings

The Miami Hurricanes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish are ranked in the top four ahead of their blockbuster showdown in South Bend in Week 10.

The top-ranked Hurricanes are one of the handful of front-runners to earn a first-round bye in the 12-team playoff field.

We'll receive more clarity on that specific item on Tuesday night when the first CFB Playoff rankings are released.

The biggest news out of Sunday's AP poll release was the Ohio State Buckeyes' drop to No. 11 after they suffered their second loss of the regular season.

Ohio State is currently in what would be the last at-large position in the playoff field.

The Buckeyes are one of a few two-loss teams that reside in a dangerous spot as the regular season crosses into November.

Miami Spends Another Week at No. 1 Ahead of Notre Dame Clash

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Miami heads to South Bend as the No. 1 team in the country and one of three remaining undefeated FBS teams.

The clash with Notre Dame is the big test of the regular season for the Hurricanes since they have three unranked ACC opponents left on their schedule.

Malachi Toney and Co. have been tested in recent weeks, though, as the Florida State Seminoles and North Carolina Tar Heels pushed them deep into the second half in two of their last three games.

You could make a strong case that Saturday's top-four battle means more to Notre Dame because the Irish already have one loss and could be on the edge of the at-large discussion with a second defeat.

Either way, the Miami-Notre Dame game has a strong case to be the most important game on the loaded November 7 slate.

Ohio State Falls To No. 11 After Suffering Second Loss

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Ohio State fell to No. 11 after its second loss of the season on Saturday night at the hands of the USC Trojans.

The Buckeyes' playoff chances are in serious peril now that they have two losses heading into November.

The Ohio State offense didn't look great with backup Luke Fahey playing in place of the injured Julian Sayin.

How effective the offense can be with Fahey at the helm will determine if the Buckeyes rebound with a handful of wins in November.

Ohio State is back at home on Saturday to face the Oregon Ducks, a game that looks much easier than it did at the start of the season.

Three of OSU's remaining four games are at home. The other two come against the Northwestern Wildcats and Michigan Wolverines. There's a road game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers mixed in there as well.

The best-case scenario is for the Buckeyes to figure things out on offense, go 4-0 in November and make the Big Ten Championship Game.

However, the worst-case scenario of dropping out of the CFB Playoff conversation as a whole is in play as well.