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Here’s what the 12-team bracket looks like after Week 5 [Video]

Here’s what the 12-team bracket looks like after Week 5 [Video]

It’s never too early to start thinking about the College Football Playoff field.

With this season’s playoffs expanding to 12 teams, we will determine the projected playoff field each week throughout the season. Yes, the official playoff rankings won’t be released until November 5th, but that won’t stop us from making our own guesses.

Without the CFP rankings as a guide, we rely primarily on the AP Top 25 as a barometer to forecast the field. The CFP rankings and the AP Poll typically have far more similarities than differences at the end of the season. Here’s what the preliminary playoff field looks like when the calendar turns to October.

The Crimson Tide jumped to the top of the AP Poll on Sunday after their dominant first half against Georgia turned into a close result. Alabama seemed unstoppable in the first 30 minutes and stalled in the second half until 17-year-old wide receiver Ryan Williams made two big plays. Alabama travels to a lively Vanderbilt team on Saturday afternoon. Don’t be surprised if Vanderbilt sticks around for a while.

The Buckeyes have now been ranked in the AP Top 25 by two different SEC teams despite having four 30-point wins on the season. Ohio State has simply taken care of business so far this season, and it showed in its 38-7 win at Michigan State. Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith continues to show why he is so good, and three different QBs got the chance to throw passes against the Spartans. Saturday’s matchup against Iowa’s defense will be the biggest test OSU’s offense has faced yet.

The Hurricanes remain at No. 3 despite a dramatic 38-34 win over Virginia Tech on Friday night. Miami did its best to lose the game and almost did, as a game-winning “Hail Mary” attempt by the Hokies ultimately won was incompletely explained. Cam Ward had his first two-interception game of the season against Tech, although he also scored five total touchdowns. The Hurricanes can now experience life in the new-look ACC as their Week 6 game is at Cal and begins at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Welcome to the show, Cyclones. Iowa State is the top-ranked team in the Big 12 after Utah lost at home to Arizona late Saturday night. The Cyclone defense has been phenomenal this season. ISU has allowed just 29 points in its four games and 19 of those were scored by Iowa in Week 2. The Big 12 may be the most open conference in the country, but Iowa State also has a chance to continue that undefeated run. The Cyclones only play a ranked team in the second-to-last week of the season, and a road game at Kansas in early November doesn’t look nearly as difficult as it did at the start of the season.

Who will make it to the first 12 College Football Playoffs? (Taylar Seivert/Yahoo Sports)

Who will make it to the first 12-team College Football Playoff? (Taylar Seivert/Yahoo Sports)

The Broncos continue to look like the best Group of Five team in the country after running over, through and around Washington State late Saturday night. Visits Utah State in Week 6 before a trip to Hawaii. The Broncos should be 5-1 before playing at UNLV in late October. The Longhorns are in an at-large spot here after a routine win over Mississippi State and the win at Alabama. Texas now has a week off for Quinn Ewers to recover before the annual rivalry game against Oklahoma.

The Wolverines made it close in their 27-24 win over Minnesota, helped by a controversial offside call on a Gophers onside kick late in the game. Michigan appeared to have the game on ice long before the Gophers scored 21 points in the fourth quarter. The Wolverines visit Washington in Week 6 in a national title rematch that doesn’t have much potential given both teams’ turnover. Tennessee was sidelined in Week 5 and travels to Arkansas in a game that could be tougher than it looks.

The Tigers were also out in Week 5 and have their biggest test of the season in Week 6 with a trip to No. 25 Texas A&M. Mizzou’s last two games have been one-possession wins against Boston College and Vanderbilt. A win over the Aggies will give the Tigers’ playoff hopes a big boost. Georgia only fell to No. 5 in the AP poll after the loss and will have every chance to get back to No. 1 for the rest of the season. The Bulldogs could take out their frustrations against a turnover-heavy Auburn team in Week 6.

Penn State’s win over Illinois wasn’t pretty, but it served its purpose. The Nittany Lions shut out the Illini in the second half as running backs Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen tied the game. Thanks to seven sacks from Illinois QB Luke Altmyer, the Illini had just 34 rushing yards on 32 carries. Oregon easily defeated UCLA late Saturday night in a Pac-12 showdown that was considered a Big Ten Conference matchup. The Ducks host Michigan State on Friday night.