College Football Playoff Bracket Week 11 Live Projections: Bids Inch Closer to Reality

It’s crunch time across college football as payoff bids can inch closer to reality on a weekend where 12 teams in the Top 25 are playing unranked opponents, there were massive travel disruptions across the landscape and we have a handful of loser leaves (CFP) town matchups between ranked teams. One team is already on to the next week after UCLA survived Illinois on Friday night, but it should be another thrilling Saturday.

With all that in mind, here’s how the bracket looks going into Week 11 before it’s set to shift significantly.

Live Week 11 College Football Playoff Bracket

Georgia
Utah
Alabama
UCLA
Notre Dame
Texas
Miami
Tennessee
Indiana
BYU
Kentucky
Boise State

First Round

No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Notre Dame
No. 11 Kentucky at No. 6 Texas
No. 10 BYU at No. 7 Miami
No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Tennessee

Quarterfinals

Rose Bowl: No. 4 UCLA vs. winner of No. 12 Boise State vs. No. 5 Notre Dame
Cotton Bowl: No. 3 Alabama vs. winner of No. 11 Kentucky vs. No. 6 Texas
Fiesta Bowl: No. 2 Utah vs. winner of No. 10 BYU vs. No. 7 Miami
Peach Bowl: No. 1 Georgia vs. winner of No. 9 Indiana vs. No. 8 Tennessee

No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Notre Dame

Plenty of eyes will be on the Broncos with College GameDay arriving in town and a big test against original Pac-12 team Oregon State. Injuries will play a factor in the contest, especially at quarterback, but it should be a game Boise State can win easily enough to move up a few more spots in the committee’s rankings. The Irish begin their closing stretch of the campaign and, though SMU figures to be the stiffest competition on the docket, they better not overlook Boston College on Saturday afternoon.

No. 11 Kentucky at No. 6 Texas

How do you sort out the SEC pecking order? We should have more clarity this weekend as Kentucky hosts alum Jon Sumrall and a Florida team capable of beating (or losing) to anyone. The Wildcats are well positioned to win out and make the playoff, but it won’t be easy given the land mines on the schedule. As for Texas, a night game in Death Valley is about as tough as it comes from an environmental standpoint and LSU is backed into a corner with its CFP hopes. A loss wouldn’t completely kill the Longhorns’ playoff hopes, but a victory would start turning heads about this being a group much closer to national title contender than it seemed a few weeks ago.

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No. 10 BYU at No. 7 Miami

Kalani Sitake and his staff aren’t the type to get caught up in the small movements in the CFP rankings, but they remain well positioned to make the field. They’ll need to win out and look impressive in order not to get pipped by any number of Big Ten/SEC teams, which can start on Saturday against a tricky Baylor team coming to town. The Hurricanes will have no issue with motivation coming off their first loss of the season and a fairly big drop in the rankings, but they’ll need to be on alert given Duke will be throwing everything at them in the Darian Mensah bowl.

No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Tennessee

Who feels more disrespected by the committee? The Hoosiers certainly feel that way, as Curt Cignetti has pointed out a few times, but can wash away any concerns others might have if they take care of business against USC at home. The Vols have a slightly easier game on paper at woeful Texas A&M but have to be on alert given what Mike Elko is capable of drawing up at the always loud Kyle Field.

Rose Bowl: No. 4 UCLA

The Bruins were in action against Illinois on Friday night and it nearly was an incredibly costly game given the initial injury to QB Ty Dieffenbach right before halftime (he later returned). That, plus playing in a Southern California downpour at times, contributed to another close win, but even the committee had to be impressed with the effort to survive and advance to another week of Big Ten and playoff contention.

Cotton Bowl: No. 3 Alabama

The final true road trip of the season awaits in Nashville against Vanderbilt and while you might typically say this is a potential spot for the Tide to let down their guard, that won’t be the case given the recent history between these two programs. Luckily for Kalen DeBoer & Co., Diego Pavia can get no closer than the sidelines this year as the program inches closer to the CFP.

Fiesta Bowl: No. 2 Utah

You have to think all week the coaching staff has been preaching not to have a letdown game after a big win over rival BYU. The Utes should be able to take care of business and inch closer to locking up a Big 12 title game berth, but the trip to Tucson has tripped up many highly ranked teams in the past with national title aspirations.

Peach Bowl: No. 1 Georgia

It’s not the most difficult final three games but getting past Missouri at home would probably be enough to potentially lock up a bid to the CFP. Of course that just isn’t what Kirby Smart takes the field looking to do and the Tigers between the Hedges may bear the brunt of a Georgia team looking to peak on both sides of the ball late in the year.

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