Miami leads 12-team College Football Playoff projection entering Week 9

Sports Illustrated’s College Football Playoff projection entering Week 9 puts Miami first in a 12-team bracket, followed by Georgia, Ohio State and UCLA. Those are the outlet’s projected spots, not rankings from the selection committee.

The rest of the projection lists Indiana, Kentucky, BYU, Notre Dame, Utah, Alabama, Florida and Boise State, in that order. Its proposed first-round games include No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Indiana and No. 9 Utah at No. 8 Notre Dame. The projected top four enter in the quarterfinals.

Sports Illustrated calls this weekend the last chance for teams to impress the committee before its first Top 25 reveal, which the outlet expects Tuesday. The episode description for The Redshirts’ Week 9 preview gives that date as Nov. 3. Sports Illustrated framed its bracket as a snapshot before Saturday’s games, saying teams could play their way into or out of its projected field.