2026 College Football Playoff bracket projection: Why Western Michigan cracks field despite loss to Michigan — SkimNews
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- Notre Dame held the No. 1 spot after cruising to a 41-13 win over Wisconsin, with the defense's 55-yard interception return for touchdown buying time for a sluggish offense to find its footing.
- Georgia stayed at No. 2 as the projected SEC champion, routing Tennessee State 63-3 behind Gunner Stockton's 15-for-16, 202-yard, three-touchdown line in limited action across five quarterbacks.
- Ole Miss jumped two spots to No. 6 as the only team in the field with a Top 25 win, edging Louisville 41-38 behind Trinidad Chambliss, though the source flagged multiple busted coverages that led to touchdowns.
- LSU vaulted to No. 9 after a 51-10 demolition of Clemson that the source called the most impressive Week 1 performance — while questioning whether LSU is that good or Clemson is that bad.
- Western Michigan crashed the field at No. 12 as the new Group of Six representative despite an 0-1 record, with the writer declaring the Broncos the "true winner" over Michigan after a controversial last-second Hail Mary.
- SMU debuted at No. 11 after surviving a power-outage-delayed, four-turnover 27-24 escape at Florida State, capitalizing on an ACC that looks better than expected and could deliver multiple CFP bids.
Why it matters: Week 2's Ohio State-Texas clash and Ole Miss's lone top-25 win set up the next wave of reshuffling, while the Western Michigan-Michigan controversy now extends beyond the bracket — CBS Sports reports the NCAA has already changed its replay timing protocol in response, turning an officiating complaint into a policy change.
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