Bowl Projections 2024-25: Playoff Bracket Predictions, Scenarios After Week 6 AP Poll

The Alabama Crimson Tide shook up how we view the College Football Playoff on Saturday with their win over the Georgia Bulldogs.

Alabama should now be viewed in the same light as the Texas Longhorns as the top contenders to earn the SEC's automatic bid as conference champion.

In fact, the Crimson Tide eclipsed the Longhorns in the Week 6 AP Top 25. They moved up from No. 4, while Texas dropped to No. 2. Georgia tumbled three spots to No. 5 after its defeat in Tuscaloosa.

As for Georgia, its playoff hopes are not completely dashed yet. The Bulldogs still have to play Texas, the Ole Miss Rebels and Tennessee Volunteers in SEC play.

Ole Miss was the biggest loser outside of Georgia among the potential playoff contenders in Week 5. The Rebels fell at home to the Kentucky Wildcats in a game they simply could not lose with the SEC being so crowded at the top.

1. Alabama (SEC champion)

2. Ohio State (Big Ten champion)

3. Miami (ACC champion)

4. Kansas State (Big 12 champion)

No. 12 Boise State vs. No. 5 Texas

No. 11 Iowa State vs. No. 6 Tennessee

No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 7 Georgia

No. 9 Missouri vs. No. 8 Oregon

Alabama passed its first major test of its SEC campaign on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide will now be favored in most of their remaining regular-season games. The lone exception could be the October 19 trip to Knoxville to face the Tennessee Volunteers.

Tennessee faces the Arkansas Razorback and Florida Gators in the two weeks prior to the matchup with Alabama, so it should be 6-0 by the time Bama comes to town.

If Bama wins that game, it will be expected to cruise into the SEC Championship Game.

The Missouri Tigers, LSU Tigers and Oklahoma Sooners are the other ranked squads on Bama's schedule, but all of them are in the second tier of SEC teams beneath Texas, Alabama, Tennessee and even Georgia.

The SEC automatic bid should be the goal for the Tide, but if that is the only game they lose, they should be in great shape to earn one of the top at-large bids in the playoff.

Georgia should still have plenty of hope regarding its playoff contention.

The Bulldogs only dropped to No. 5 in the AP Top 25 and they have a few more opportunities on their schedule to knock out other playoff contenders in the SEC.

Kirby Smart's team should rebound at home over the next two weeks against the Auburn Tigers and Mississippi State Bulldogs.

After that, UGA goes on the road to Austin to take on Texas in what should be its second top-five battle of the season.

Georgia also has Ole Miss and Tennessee on its schedule in consecutive weeks in November. Those two games could serve as affirmation of Georgia's playoff status if it beats Texas.

A win over Texas could also put UGA back in the mix for the SEC Championship Game, where a rematch with Alabama is possible.

There is even a scenario where the Bulldogs lose to both Bama and Texas but still makes the playoff with a 10-2 record that includes Top 25 wins over Ole Miss, Tennessee and the Clemson Tigers.

Georgia would likely be a lower at-large seed in that scenario, but there are still a few different paths for it to earn a playoff berth.

The Big 12 title race looks to be more chaotic after Week 5 than it was entering Saturday.

The Kansas State Wildcats re-established themselves with a home blowout over the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

The Utah Utes, who beat OK State in Week 4, took a surprising loss at home to the Arizona Wildcats in one of Saturday's late contests.

Entering Week 6, the BYU Cougars, Colorado Buffaloes and Texas Tech Red Raiders are 2-0 in conference play.

The Iowa State Cyclones are now the highest-ranked Big 12 team at No. 16. BYU is No. 17, Utah checks in at No. 18 and K-State resides at No. 20.

The next massive game in the Big 12 title race comes in two weeks when K-State visits Colorado.

Until then, the potential title contenders in the Big 12 should continue to win, which at minimum, would set up a fascinating second half of the regular season with an automatic bid and likely one at-large playoff berth on the line.