Miami would join Ohio State, Penn State and LSU as a top-four seed in the College Football Playoff based on The Associated Press Top 25 poll released Sunday while Georgia, Oregon, Florida State and Texas would host first-round games.
Ohio State, Penn State and LSU remain the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 seeds. Miami moved into the No. 4 seed after moving up a spot in the AP poll. The top four receive first-round byes.
The Big Ten and Southeastern Conference each would have four teams in the 12-team field, the Atlantic Coast Conference two and the Big 12 and American one each. South Florida would be in as the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion based on having the most points of any unranked G5 team.
Based on the AP Top 25, the CFP would open like this:
— No. 9 seed Illinois at No. 8 Texas. Winner vs. No. 1 Ohio State.
— No. 12 seed South Florida at No. 5 seed Georgia. Winner vs. No. 4 Miami.
— No. 10 seed Texas A&M at No. 7 seed Florida State. Winner vs. No. 2 Penn State.
— No. 11 seed Iowa State at No. 6 Oregon. Winner vs. No. 3 LSU.
The first three teams outside the bracket: Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama.
The Sooners are ranked No. 11 by the AP but would get bumped by automatically qualifying conference champions, in this case Iowa State of the Big 12 and South Florida of the American.
The five highest-ranked conference champions automatically qualify for the CFP, but no longer do the four highest-ranked champions receive a first-round bye. The 12-team bracket is now seeded directly based on the CFP’s final rankings in early December.
The top four seeds will be assigned to quarterfinals in ranking order and in consideration of current bowl relationships. This year, quarterfinal winners advance to the semifinals at the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl. The No. 1 seed would receive preferential placement based on geography.
Teams ranked Nos. 5-12 by the CFP will play in the first round, with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or at other sites designated by the higher-seeded school. First-round games are Dec. 19 and 20, quarterfinals Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, semifinals Jan. 8 and 9 and the championship game is Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The AP will publish brackets based on the weekly Top 25 until the CFP selection committee unveils its initial rankings Nov. 4.
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