We’re officially through five weeks of football! With Missouri stomping Florida, and Alabama dispatching Mississippi State this weekend, I think there are three SEC teams who are pretty solidly in the field right now. After that, things get more murky. However, Ole Miss (10), and LSU (11) make up the final two spots in this week’s projection.

Texas

After beating Tennessee, the Longhorns got a bye to prepare for a reeling Oklahoma team at the Texas State Fair on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ABC). The Longhorns continue to have the best win in the country, and at least for now, there is no reason to drop them from the top spot.

Georgia

Despite struggling a bit in the first, Georgia dispatched Vanderbilt 38-14. The Bulldogs head to Tuscaloosa in what could very well be the game of the year! The winner will be in the driver’s seat to a bye in the CFP.

Miami (FL)

Another week, more dominance from the Hurricanes, who walked into Clemson and beat the Tigers 41-13. They’ve made this season look easy so far, and will now have a bye before getting Florida State and Pittsburgh at home the following two weeks.

Ohio State

After losing to Texas, some people naturally had questions about the Buckeyes this year. However, they responded with three comfortable wins. This weekend, they walked into Kinnick Stadium and beat a good Iowa team 31-14. Up next is Maryland before they travel to Bloomington for a battle with Indiana on 10/17.

Alabama

I am relatively confident the committee will not have three SEC teams get byes in the CFP. That is the only reason that I don’t have Bama ahead of Miami or Ohio State. After beating Mississippi 56-23, head coach Kalen DeBoer has Alabama back to where they want to be. Georgia comes to town this weekend for their chance to prove it to everyone.

Indiana

To be completely honest, I have no idea what Indiana is this year. What I do know, however, is that we’re about to find out. They are in Lincoln, Nebraska on Saturday and then have Ohio State at home after that. The season really starts now. The win over Northwestern will continue to age well as we move on.

Notre Dame

Similar to Indiana, Notre Dame has one win that is aging very well (Wisconsin). Outside of that, they’ve done exactly as they should. They have one more “tune-up” before heading to Provo in a battle of likely top 10 teams on Oct. 17.

BYU

For those of you who missed it, it was a torrential downpour Saturday night in Fort Worth. While the scoreline looks questionable, that game was so weather altered I’m not moving BYU until it becomes a trend. This week they need to avoid overlooking an Iowa State team who can cause chaos if they’re not taken seriously.

Utah

The Utes are a team I’m starting to buy-in on. However, they also have not played anyone of note. They’re here because their performances have been impressive against teams they should beat. Iowa State is solid, especially in Ames, and a 31-17 victory moves them ahead of Texas Tech this week.

Ole Miss

Biggest game of the year and a huge victory, followed up by a 52-28 drubbing at the hands of Florida. Ole Miss has to return to the team they were the first 3 weeks of the year. They had a bye this week and will now travel to Nashville to play Vanderbilt in a game they should win handily.

LSU

The Tigers have the talent to battle with the nation’s elite. However, they have to beat someone with a pulse. Their best win is Texas A&M, and they’ll now get a chance at a 4-1 Kentucky team, which would be the best win to date. With Mississippi State, Texas, Alabama and Tennessee among the teams left on their schedule, LSU has to win in Lexington this weekend.

Boise State

The Broncos continue to just roll right along. A 37-18 victory over Utah State this weekend paves the way for them to take two games on the road (Fresno State and Washington State) with a bye between the two. The game on Nov. 14 against Oregon State is one to keep your eyes on here!

First teams out:

Tennessee

The Volunteers took care of Auburn this weekend at home. They now get to travel to Arkansas before hosting Alabama on Oct. 17. They are right there, but missing a marquee win. For an SEC schedule, their path is relatively easy in comparison to others on this list. They can lose one of Alabama or LSU the rest of the way and get in.

Texas Tech

The final scoreline looks really good, as they won 29-7, however, Dickey got hurt and they did not look good before pulling away later. They are also relatively untested. Until Tech looks the part a little more consistently and we hear back on the injury side of things, they will be outside looking in.

UCLA

4-0 and coming off of a bye. I have the Bruins here more by default than anything else. We’ll learn a lot more about them this weekend with a trip to Eugene on the books!

Oregon

The Ducks may not be dead. Oklahoma State isn’t bad, in fact, they’re good. Oregon will look to keep their momentum rolling with UCLA coming to town this weekend.

Missouri

Dominating Florida gets you in the playoff conversation. However, they already have one loss this year, and are staring down a schedule that includes at Ole Miss, vs. Texas, and at Georgia in the next five weeks. They will need to scrape together some upsets to stay in the playoff race.

Florida

The perfect hangover game has been the story of Florida’s season. They took advantage against Ole Miss, but Missouri took advantage this weekend. Now, Florida’s Margin for error is gone. They have to play Texas and Georgia at the end of this month. They will need to keep both matchups close, and hope the committee will let a 3 loss team in with a win over another CFP team (Ole Miss).

Group of 6: 

James Madison: The Dukes are 5-0 and continue lurking. Their toughest game is at App State on Oct. 22. If they go undefeated, there are going to be some very uncomfortable conversations to be had by the committee.

North Dakota State: Much like JMU, NDSU is 5-0 on the year, and lurking right behind Boise if they were to slip up!

Charlie will have a more in-depth look at the Group of 6 teams later this week!