David Pollack releases updated College Football Playoff projection after Week 5 with new top four

College football analyst David Pollack released his updated College Football Playoff projection after Week 5 of the season. He even has a new top four!

Pollack revealed his 12-team bracket on his podcast: See Ball Get Ball. We have plenty of college football left, but this bracket looks pretty darn fun!

So, let’s dive into the latest College Football Playoff projections as we approach the halfway point of the year. We start with the first matchup in the first round.

College Football Playoff First Round Game #1

No. 12 Memphis at No. 5 Oklahoma

Memphis is Pollack’s Group of Five representative, the same as last week. But the Tigers will hit the road against a different SEC team: Oklahoma.

The Sooners won’t win the SEC in this scenario, but they will get a home game and be the highest ranked team in the first round. Based on Pollack’s rankings, the Sooners are actually the SEC runner-ups.

College Football Playoff First Round Game #2

No. 11 LSU at No. 6 Texas A&M

This is the same matchup from Pollack’s projections last week, except he flipped the seedings. LSU dropped a game to Ole Miss while Texas A&M remained undefeated.

So there’s plenty of SEC representation in the College Football Playoff right now. But it’ll be the 12th Man giving the Tigers fits in the first round!

College Football Playoff First Round Game #3

No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Indiana

Alabama is back in Pollack’s College Football Playoff projections but they’ll have to hit the road in the first round. The Crimson Tide returned to the 12-team bracket after beating Georgia on the road. The Bulldogs aren’t even in this bracket!

Indiana will play host in the first round vs. Alabama. Imagine writing that sentence last year. The Hoosiers are still unbeaten and look like a Big Ten title threat.

College Football Playoff First Round Game #4

No. 9 Florida State at No. 8 Texas Tech

Florida State had a first round bye in Pollack’s College Football Playoff projections last week, but the loss to Virginia dropped them to a first round road game. Still, the Seminoles have a path to go there.

They’ll hit the road to Texas Tech to take on the Red Raiders, who project as the Big 12 champs. They’ve been impressive on both sides of the ball so far and are the lone team to come out of their conference.

No. 1 Miami vs. TBD

Just like last week, Miami is Pollack’s top team in his College Football Playoff projections. The Hurricanes had a bye week this past weekend but are still undefeated.

They’ll head to Florida State on Saturday, so that could certainly shake up rankings, projections and the ACC race. That said, a Miami win will certainly put them in the best position.

No. 2 Ohio State vs. TBD

The Buckeyes had their first true road test at Washington and beat the Huskies 24-6. It wasn’t a show stopper on offense, but it was very impressive in all facets.

Ohio State is the projected Big Ten champion but they could have company in the quarterfinals according to Pollack. As it stands, Ohio State is projected to go 13-0 and wait for their opponent in the College Football Playoff.

No. 3 Oregon vs. TBD

Oregon vaulted up Pollack’s College Football Playoff projections after beating Penn State on the road. The Ducks and Nittany Lions were neck and neck, but Dan Lanning and company were victorious.

They don’t play Ohio State in the regular season, but it seems like they’re bound to meet up in the Big Ten Championship. That’ll be the difference between the No. 2 and 3 seeds right now.

No. 4 Ole Miss vs. TBD

The biggest addition to Pollack’s Week 5 College Football Playoff projections is Ole Miss. The Rebels weren’t even in last week!

But now, they’re the projected SEC champions after beating LSU this past weekend. At 5-0, the rest of the schedule sets up for a special season!