Six of the 12 teams in the College Football Playoff would be from the Southeastern Conference and two of the four first-round games would be all-SEC matchups based on The Associated Press Top 25 poll released Sunday.
Texas, Georgia, Notre Dame and Indiana would be the top four seeds and Miami, Ohio State, LSU and Mississippi would host first-round games.
The five highest-ranked conference champions — from the Power Four and one from the Group of Six — will qualify for the CFP. The other seven spots will be filled by the next highest-ranked teams. One of those at-large teams will be Notre Dame if the Fighting Irish are among the top 12 in the CFP’s final rankings.
With six of the top 10 teams in the AP poll, the SEC matched the record it set and matched in consecutive polls in 2024. In the two years of the 12-team playoff, no conference has had more than five teams in the field, and that was the SEC last season.
Based on the AP rankings, the CFP would open like this:
— No. 9 seed Texas A&M at No. 8 Mississippi. Winner vs. No. 1 Texas.
— No. 12 seed Boise State at No. 5 Miami. Winner vs. No. 4 Indiana.
— No. 10 seed Alabama at No. 7 LSU. Winner vs. No. 2 Georgia.
— No. 11 seed BYU at No. 6 Ohio State. Winner vs. No. 3 Notre Dame.
The first three teams outside the bracket: Southern California, Texas Tech and Penn State.
The Trojans are ranked No. 12 by the AP but would get bumped by Boise State of the revamped Pac-12, which would be the automatically qualifying Group of Six champion. Boise State is not in the AP Top 25 but is the Group of Six team that received the most votes.
First-round games are Dec. 18 and 19, quarterfinals Dec. 30 and Jan. 1, semifinals Jan. 14 and 15 and the championship game is Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The AP will publish brackets based on the weekly Top 25 until the CFP selection committee unveils its initial rankings Nov. 3.
Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here
Indiana offensive lineman Bray Lynch (74) gestures toward a Howard player after the player made helmet-to-helmet contact with Indiana quarterback Josh Hoover (10) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, in Bloomington, Ind. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler)
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, center, celebrates Texas' win over Ohio State in an NCAA college football game in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Lamine Yamal produced another double and Barcelona also got a goal from another 19-year-old product of its famed youth academy in a 4-2 win at Levante on Sunday.
Elsewhere in Europe, the Bundesliga’s biggest club needed a second-half winner from Harry Kane to beat the league's smallest side as Bayern Munich won 2-1 at promoted Elversberg.
Later, European champion Paris Saint-Germain looks for its first league win of the season when it goes to Brest.
Xavi Espart scored the opener for Barcelona with a low, bouncing shot from the edge of the area after getting set up by Raphinha five minutes in for his first goal with the senior squad.
Espart joined Barcelona’s La Masia academy as an under-10 player and made his senior team debut last season.
For Barca’s second, Raphinha dribbled around the goalkeeper and crossed for Yamal, who used one touch to smash it in from inside the 6-yard box.
Yamal then added a penalty shortly after the break for his sixth league goal of the season and his third straight brace in the Spanish league.
A poor back pass from Espart, who was playing as a left back, allowed Ivan Romero to pull one back for Levante. Then Roger Brugué scored again for Levante before Karim Adeyemi restored a two-goal advantage in stoppage time as Barcelona improved its perfect start with its sixth win in six matches across all competitions.
Lennart Karl put Bayern ahead early on before substitute Maurice Krattenmacher equalized for Elversberg in the 61st.
Kane's winner came in the 72nd as the England forward scored through traffic after Elversberg gave away possession under high pressing.
It was Kane's 99th Bundesliga goal in 97 matches.
Elversberg entered the match ahead of Bayern in the table after stunning two former champions: Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Erling Haaland’s hotly contested goal settled the Manchester derby.
The Norwegian struck in the 60th minute at Old Trafford to seal a 1-0 win for 10-man Manchester City over fierce rival Manchester United in the Premier League.
At first, the goal was ruled out for offside, but after VAR review the onfield decision was overturned. That sparked a roar of celebration from the away fans.
Coventry’s nightmare start to the season continued with a 5-0 home loss to Brighton.
Dan Neil scored a double and Rangers beat Celtic 3-0 in the first Old Firm derby of the season — in the Scottish league cup quarterfinals.
Celtic fans were barred from the game following a Scottish league review of the disorder that marred the Scottish Cup quarterfinal match between the teams in March.
There were no immediate reports of disorder from the latest encounter.
Napoli ended a run of three straight losses across all competitions by beating visiting Bologna 1-0.
Midfielder Stanislav Lobotka scored in the 66th.
Juventus was visiting Sassuolo later.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
Elversberg's Lukasz Poreba, right, and Munich's Harry Kane left, challenge for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match between SV Elversberg and FC Bayern Munich in Elversberg, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (Uwe Anspach/dpa via AP)
Rangers' Daniel Neil celebrates scoring their side's first goal during the Scottish League Cup soccer match between Rangers and Celtic, in Glasgow, Sunday Sept. 13, 2026. (Steve Welsh/PA via AP)
Barcelona's Raphinha controls the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Levante and Barcelona in Valencia, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Barcelona's Xavi Espart, second from left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Levante and Barcelona in Valencia, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, celebrates after scoring on a penalty kick his side's 3rd goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Levante and Barcelona in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Barcelona's Xavi Espart, left, scores his side's first goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Levante and Barcelona in Valencia, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
