Hoosiers Now

College Football Playoff Rankings: Indiana Ranked No. 5, Would Be No. 7 Seed in Bracket

Following its 10-0 start, the Indiana football team was ranked No. 5 in the updated College Football Playoff Rankings, released Tuesday night. Because of the playoff format, Indiana would be the No. 7 seed in the 12-team playoff.

Jack Ankony

Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti against Michigan at Memorial Stadium.
Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti against Michigan at Memorial Stadium. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana would be one of 12 teams competing for a national championship, if the regular season ended today.

Indiana came in at No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, released Tuesday night. The four highest-ranked conference champions get first-round byes in the playoff, so Indiana would slide down to the No. 7 seed in the playoff.

"Just a little less disrespect this week," ESPN analyst Booger McFarland said. "I like the committee moving Indiana up. I get it, it was a close game against Michigan. But guess what? We can't always score 40 points. The defense is gonna have to help us out. The defense showed up, the defense dominated in the second half."

"And if you're Indiana, you got a week off, then the biggest game in maybe the Indiana Hoosiers history at the Horseshoe against the Buckeyes. But this still tells me, Rece, Penn State, who has lost a game, is in front of Indiana. That's where a little disrespect comes from."

No. 6 BYU and No. 9 Miami are ranked behind Indiana, but they would jump the Hoosiers in the bracket as conference champions. In this scenario, BYU projects to win the Big 12 championship and would receive the No. 3 seed. Miami projects to win the ACC and would receive the No. 4 seed.

In the first set of College Football Playoff rankings relased last week, Indiana was ranked No. 8 and would have been the No. 9 seed. But thanks to Indiana's 20-15 win over Michigan, plus losses by Miami and Georgia, the Hoosiers moved up three spots from No. 8 to No. 5 in the second set of rankings. Indiana also moved ahead of Tennessee, which beat Mississippi State on Saturday.

Indiana is one of four Big Ten teams in the first projected playoff bracket along with Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State. The SEC also has four teams in the projected bracket, including Texas, Tennessee, Alabama and Ole Miss. The ACC, Big 12 and Mountain West each have one team in this week's bracket.

"What I'm most fascinated by is when I look at those possible first-round matchups," ESPN analyst Greg McElroy said. "The southern teams, Alabama heading to what might be a snowy environment in Bloomington, Indiana on December 20th at night, is mind blowing to me. ... That's, I think, why the home game was brought to this format, is the possibility of teams playing out of their comfort zone, like a southern team playing in the snow."

Indiana also moved up three spots from No. 8 to No. 5 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, released Sunday. In coach Curt Cignetti's first season, Indiana has achieved the first 10-win season in program history at 10-0 overall. The Hoosiers are also tied for first in the Big Ten standings at 7-0.

Indiana has a bye week before traveling to Ohio State on Nov. 23 and hosting Purdue on Nov. 30 to conclude the regular season. If the season ended today, Indiana would play Oregon in the Big Ten championship on Dec. 7 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

College Football Playoff qualifying teams

1. Oregon (10-0). As the Big Ten champion, Oregon would be the No. 1 seed in the playoff bracket.

2. Ohio State (8-10). As an at-large selection, the Buckeyes would move down to the No. 5 seed in the playoff bracket.

3. Texas (8-1). As the SEC champion, the Longhorns would move up to the No. 2 seed in the playoff bracket.

4. Penn State (8-1). As an at-large selection, the Nittany Lions would move down to the No. 6 seed in the playoff bracket.

5. Indiana (10-0). As an at-large selection, the Hoosiers would move down to the No. 7 seed in the playoff bracket.

6. BYU (9-0). As the Big 12 champion, the Cougars would move up to the No. 3 seed in the playoff bracket.

7. Tennessee (8-1). As an at-large selection, the Volunteers would move down to the No. 8 seed in the playoff bracket.

8. Notre Dame (8-1). As an at-large selection, the Fighting Irish would move down to the No. 9 seed in the playoff bracket.

9. Miami (9-1). As the ACC champion, the Hurricanes would move up to the No. 4 seed in the playoff bracket.

10. Alabama (7-2). As an at-large selection, the Crimson Tide would stay as the No. 10 seed in the playoff bracket.

11. Ole Miss (8-2). As an at-large selection, the Rebels would stay as the No. 11 seed in the playoff bracket.

13. Boise State (8-1). As the Mountain West champion and fifth-highest ranked conference champion, the Broncos would move up to the No. 12 seed in the playoff bracket despite being ranked 13th.

Non-qualifying teams

12. Georgia (7-2). Because the playoff gives automatic bids to the five highest-rated conference champions, the Bulldogs would not make the playoff bracket despite being ranked 12th.

14. SMU (8-1)

15. Texas A&M (7-2)

16. Kansas State (7-2)

17. Colorado (7-2)

18. Washington State (8-1)

19. Louisvillle (6-3)

20. Clemson (7-2)

21. South Carolina (6-3)

22. LSU (6-3)

23. Missouri (7-2)

24. Army (9-0)

25. Tulane (8-2)

How the 12-team playoff bracket is formed

  • The five highest-rated conference champions make the field. Four of them will receive byes to the quarterfinals as the top four seeds. In the second set of rankings, Oregon would receive the No. 1 seed as the highest-ranked Big Ten Team. Texas would receive the No. 2 seed as the highest-ranked SEC team. BYU would receive the No. 3 seed, despite being ranked sixth, because it is the highest-ranked Big 12 team. Miami would receive the No. 4 seed, despite being ranked ninth, because it is the highest-ranked ACC team. Oregon, Texas, BYU and Miami would receive first-round byes.
  • Boise State, as the fifth-ranked conference champion from one of the non-Power Four leagues (Mountain West), also makes the tournament field, but does not get a bye. In the second set of playoff rankings Boise State is ranked No. 13, but it would still make the 12-team playoff because it would have been a conference champion. Georgia is ranked No. 12 this week, but they would miss the playoff field in favor of Boise State.
  • The other seven teams are at-large selections from across FBS. They are slotted in the No. 5-No. 11 seed range.
  • The eight teams that don’t receive byes play the first round on campus sites. The No. 5-8 seeds will host those games.

Projected College Football Playoff bracket

First round (Dec. 20-21, at campus sites)

  • No. 12 seed Boise State at No. 5 seed Ohio State
  • No. 9 seed Notre Dame at No. 8 seed Tennessee
  • No. 11 seed Ole Miss at No. 6 seed Penn State
  • No. 10 seed Alabama at No. 7 seed Indiana

Quarterfinals (Dec. 31-Jan. 1, played at traditional bowl sites: Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl)

  • Boise State-Ohio State winner vs. No. 4 seed Miami
  • Notre Dame-Tennessee winner vs. No. 1 seed Oregon
  • Ole Miss-Penn State winner vs. No. 3 seed BYU
  • Alabama-Indiana winner vs. No. 2 seed Texas

Semifinals (Jan. 9-10, played at traditional bowl sites: Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl)

  • Boise State-Ohio State-Miami winner vs. Notre Dame-Tennessee-Oregon winner
  • Ole Miss-Penn State-BYU winner vs. Alabama-Indiana-Texas winner

Championship (Jan. 20, played at Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta)

  • Semifinal winners.

Related stories on Indiana football

  • BOWL PROJECTIONS: Indiana is widely expected to reach the College Football Playoff after improving to 10-0 in its first season under coach Curt Cignetti. CLICK HERE
  • ROAD TO 10-0: Hoosiers On SI looks back game-by-game at the path Indiana football took to create a dream season. How did this game inform what we know now that we didn't know then? The first of a series. CLICK HERE
  • OPENING LINE: Here's the point spread and over/under for Indiana's road game against Ohio State, plus betting results from throughout the season. CLICK HERE
  • INDIANA MOVES TO NO. 5: Hoosiers move up three spots in latest AP football poll. CLICK HERE.
  • PREDICTIONS REVISITED: How did Hoosiers On SI do on our pregame keys and predictions? Find out. CLICK HERE.
  • INDIANA ESCAPES WITH 20-15 WIN: Indiana holds off Michigan to earn a 20-15 win to improve to 10-0. CLICK HERE.
  • FEAR NOT, THE DEFENSE HAS THIS: Todd Golden writes about how it got a bit scary at Memorial Stadium on Saturday ... until the Indiana defense got on the field. CLICK HERE.
  • WHAT CIGNETTI SAID: Here's everything Cignetti said to the media after the Michigan win. CLICK HERE
  • ROLES REVERSED FOR MICHIGAN: Indiana rarely loses to Michigan, but the roles are reversed as Indiana improved to 10-0 at the expense of the Wolverines. CLICK HERE.
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Jack Ankony
JACK ANKONY

Jack Ankony is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation writer for HoosiersNow.com. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism. Follow on Twitter @ankony_jack.

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