College Football Playoff projection: Hoosiers make initial appearance

Indiana Hoosiers defensive lineman Mikail Kamara (6) celebrates a sack during a college football game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Indiana Hoosiers on Nov. 2, 2024, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. (Adam Ruff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

(AP) — Oregon, Georgia, Miami and BYU remained the top four seeds in the The Associated Press College Football Playoff projection on Sunday, the final edition of the bracket before the CFP releases its first rankings of the season.

Oregon, Georgia and Miami won over the weekend to hold their coveted seeds as projected conference champions, as did BYU, which was idle.

Indiana’s initial appearance on the bracket gives the Big Ten and SEC four teams apiece in the field ahead of the CFP rankings Tuesday night.

Indiana cracked the top 10 of the AP poll for the first time and would be the No. 9 seed playing at No. 8 Tennessee in the first round. Alabama returned to the bracket as the No. 11 seed and would visit No. 6 Texas.

A reminder about the format: The top four seeds are assigned to the highest-ranked conference champions, regardless of their overall ranking. The five highest-ranked conference champions, regardless of league, are guaranteed spots in the field. There is no cap on the number of teams that can come from one conference.

The final breakdown via the AP Top 25:

  • No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Tennessee. Winner vs. No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
  • No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State. Winner vs. No. 4 BYU in the Fiesta Bowl.
  • No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Penn State. Winner vs. No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
  • No. 11 Alabama at No. 6 Texas. Winner vs. No. 3 Miami in the Peach Bowl.
  • Moving in this week: Indiana, Alabama.
  • Moving out: Texas A&M, Clemson/Iowa State.
  • Next five: SMU, LSU, Texas A&M, Mississippi, Iowa State.