Sports · American Football · 2 hrs ago
Week 7 upsets scramble the college football playoff picture
Five of the AP poll’s top seven teams lost on Saturday in a chaotic Week 7 of college football.
Texas lost to Florida, Georgia fell to Auburn and Alabama lost to Tennessee, while Notre Dame was beaten by BYU.
The results have left the playoff race without a clear No.
1, with Miami and Ohio State among the leading contenders in one projection.
The College Football Playoff is a postseason tournament, and its selection committee weighs teams’ records and results when choosing the field.
Several SEC teams could finish with three losses, making it difficult to know which will qualify under the current format.
The SEC has backed expanding the playoff to 24 teams, possibly as soon as the 2027 season.
The committee will publish its first ranking on Nov.
3, with its final rankings due during conference championship weekend.
Week 7’s upsets reshaped college football’s playoff picture and bowl projections.
Five of the top seven teams in the Associated Press Poll lost on Saturday, the most such losses on a single day in the poll’s history.
Texas, Georgia and Alabama each lost, while Notre Dame also fell at BYU.
ESPN projected undefeated Miami as the top team and Ohio State second, while noting there was no clear-cut No. 1.
CBS Sports projected at least two three-loss SEC teams could make this season’s playoff.
- Who
- Texas, Georgia, Alabama and Notre Dame were among the teams that lost. Miami and Ohio State were among the teams in ESPN’s projected top two.
- What
- Week 7 upsets changed the playoff picture and prompted new playoff and bowl projections.
- When
- Saturday in Week 7; the articles were published on October 18, 2026.
- Where
- Games took place across college football, including Georgia’s home loss to Auburn and Notre Dame’s loss at BYU.
- Why
- The upsets left the playoff picture muddled and changed how teams’ postseason prospects were assessed.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Texas lost to Florida, Georgia lost at home to Auburn, Alabama lost at Tennessee and Notre Dame lost at BYU.
CBS Sports and ESPN published updated postseason projections following the upsets.
- AP Top 7 losses
- Five teams lost on Saturday
- Poll record
- Most AP Top 7 losses on a single day since the poll began in 1936
- ESPN projected No. 1
- Miami Hurricanes, 6-0
- ESPN projected No. 2
- Ohio State Buckeyes, 6-1
- First CFP ranking
- Scheduled to be revealed November 3
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What people are saying
Ah, this season has truly been exhilarating, and we're only halfway through.
There's only one undefeated team left in the entire Big Ten and SEC combined.
With only two Saturdays remaining until the College Football Playoff selection committee reveals its first ranking of the season on Nov. 3, the playoff picture remains muddled with no clear-cut No. 1 team asserting itself above the pack.