College Football Playoff Bracket Week 6 Live Projections: Missouri Enters the Rankings

Throughout Saturday’s games, Sports Illustrated projects the playoff seeding and matchups.

Missouri wide receiver Damarion Fowlkes runs the ball against Texas A&M. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Update at 4 p.m. ET Saturday

If you thought this was just going to be a straightforward Saturday, you would be mistaken. 

After the first window of games, we saw Florida drop out of the College Football Playoff projection following its struggles against South Carolina in the Swamp, Indiana slide down a few spots after barely escaping Lincoln, Neb., with a victory and a host of other one-loss SEC teams get bumped up far enough to host nearly every first-round game on campus. Given the matchups on tap the rest of the day, the CFP picture should change plenty more over the course of the next few hours.

Update at noon ET Saturday

There’s been an understandable focus on figuring out the SEC pecking order going into this weekend, and Saturday should bring plenty of clarity as to which teams are firmly in the College Football Playoff hunt and which ones are simply hanging on given the number of losses attached to their record. There will be a particular focus paid to the conditions in Tuscaloosa, Ala., an upset alert thrown up in Dallas for Red River and maybe even some separation coming further north in the Big Ten between some of the other playoff contenders. That should make for an incredible day in the sport given the number of interesting games worth watching. 

With that in mind, here’s how the bracket looks going into Week 6 before it’s set to shift significantly throughout a busy Saturday in the sport. 

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Live Week 6 College Football Playoff Bracket

1. Texas
2. Georgia
3. Notre Dame
4. Ohio State 
5. Alabama
6. Miami
7. Mississippi 
8. LSU
9. Indiana
10. Missouri
11. BYU
12. Boise State

First Round

• No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Alabama
• No. 11 BYU at No. 6 Miami
• No. 10 Missouri at No. 7 Mississippi
• No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 LSU

Quarterfinals

• Rose Bowl: No. 4 Ohio State vs. winner of No. 12 Boise State vs. No. 5 Alabama
• Fiesta Bowl: No. 3 Notre Dame vs. winner of No. 11 BYU vs. No. 6 Miami
• Peach Bowl: No. 2 Georgia vs. winner of No. 10 Missouri vs. No. 7 Mississippi
• Cotton Bowl: No. 1 Texas vs. winner of No. 9 Indiana vs. No. 8 LSU

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No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Alabama

Don’t just assume a cakewalk in the Pac-12 for Boise State this season, with much of the league looking quite capable of winning on any given Saturday. That includes a tricky test on Saturday night against a dangerous Fresno State team that is more than capable of handing the Broncos another loss. As for the Crimson Tide, this is one of those situations where Kalen DeBoer is typically at his best, but with all the potential weather on hand at Bryant-Denny Stadium and a formidable Georgia team on deck, it will take a top-tier effort for Alabama to remain undefeated by Sunday.

No. 11 BYU at No. 6 Miami

It has not been particularly pretty the last few weeks for the Cougars, who can finally turn their full attention to a highly anticipated meeting with Notre Dame after dispatching Iowa State on Friday night. Injury concerns are paramount for Kalani Sitake’s team given how disjointed the offense looks without tailback LJ Martin, a concern shared by Miami this weekend as it tries to rest up on its off week and aims to get a few guys back into the starting lineup before next Saturday.

No. 10 Missouri at No. 7 Mississippi

You have to think that Ole Miss has been waiting what seems like forever to get back on the field in order to flush its first loss of the season from memory. Vanderbilt offers up an excellent chance to do just that on Saturday afternoon. Meanwhile, Missouri had no hangover from its big win last weekend over Florida and can go from complaints about the ranking next to its name to a legitimate chance to make the CFP after it trounced Texas A&M. 

No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 LSU

Normally, making a trip to Kentucky is the kind of game you can just automatically assume LSU is going to win. That’s not the case this season and it will take a high-end effort from Lane Kiffin’s team to emerge victorious against the plucky Wildcats. On the flip side, do we have any better idea at just what the ceiling is for this Indiana side after it needed an incredible comeback to hold off Nebraska on the road? Probably not even as the reigning champs remain in the ranks of the unbeaten.

Rose Bowl: No. 4 Ohio State

Maryland has to know that you can’t cover Jeremiah Smith with just one defender so one wonders just how many defensive backs the Terps are going to throw at him during a matinee at the Horseshoe. It probably isn’t going to matter one bit as the Buckeyes have a chance to name their score. 

Fiesta Bowl: No. 3 Notre Dame

It doesn’t feel like it was that long ago where Stanford was capable of pulling off an upset of the Irish when they made the trip to South Bend. That probably isn’t the case this season amid a rebuilding effort by the Cardinal, but Notre Dame has a good opportunity to get out any kinks on both sides of the ball ahead of its trip to BYU for the first real test of the season.

Peach Bowl: No. 2 Georgia

Are the Bulldogs the team to beat in the SEC this season even though they may not be the highest ranked in the conference? We’ll find out on Saturday night as they finally get a game on their level against Alabama. 

Cotton Bowl: No. 1 Texas

Anything—anything!—is possible when it comes to the annual Red River Rivalry game so the Longhorns better be buttoned up with their execution against an Oklahoma team who would like nothing more than to pull an upset at the Cotton Bowl to get their season back on track. 

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