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Pat Forde: College Football Playoff Projected Bracket After Week 3

Ole Miss’s win over LSU vaults the Rebels to the No. 1 seed through Saturday’s games.
Ole Miss linebacker Keaton Thomas celebrates after a play against LSU.
Ole Miss linebacker Keaton Thomas celebrates after a play against LSU. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Every week, The Dash will select and seed the 12-team College Football Playoff as if today is Selection Sunday. The current bracket (as always, if your team hasn’t played at least one power-conference opponent to date, it isn’t being ranked here): 

College Football Playoff Projections After Week 3

  1. Mississippi (3–0) 
  2. Texas (3–0) 
  3. Ohio State (2–1) 
  4. LSU (2–1) 
  5. Miami (3–0) 
  6. Notre Dame (3–0) 
  7. Georgia (3–0) 
  8. Alabama (3–0) 
  9. Mississippi State (3–0) 
  10. Louisville (2–1) 
  11. BYU (3–0) 
  12. Tulsa (3–0)

Also considered: Duke, Utah, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech, UCLA, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Iowa, West Virginia, Northwestern, Florida, Missouri.

First Round 

  • No. 12 Tulsa at No. 5 Miami
  • No. 11 BYU at No. 6 Notre Dame
  • No. 10 Louisville at No. 7 Georgia
  • No. 9 Mississippi State at No. 8 Alabama

Quarterfinals

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

PODCAST: Listen to Sports Illustrated’s college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, hosted by Pat Forde, on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s college YouTube channel or on SI TV.

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Pat Forde
PAT FORDE

Pat Forde is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who covers college football and college basketball as well as the Olympics and horse racing. He cohosts the Others Receiving Votes podcast for SI and is a regular contributor to the Tony Kornheiser Show podcast. He previously worked for Yahoo Sports, ESPN and The (Louisville) Courier-Journal. Forde has won 28 Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest awards, has been published three times in the Best American Sports Writing book series, and was nominated for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize. A past president of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and member of the Football Writers Association of America, he lives in Louisville with his wife. They have three children, all of whom were collegiate swimmers.

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