Latest CFP, bowl projections: How did the postseason picture shift after Week 5?

Week 5 of the college football season featured three ranked matchups, with Ohio State earning a big road conference win over Iowa, Missouri shocking the college football world with its 28-point victory against top-10 Florida, and Alabama silencing the cowbells with its dominant 33-point win over Mississippi State. This week we saw big wins, performances that raised some questions and games that came down to the very last play as we take a look at how the postseason picture shifted.

New to the 2026 season, the Power 4 conference champions will get automatic bids to the CFP along with the highest-ranked Group of 6 team regardless of whether it is a league champ. The remaining slots in the 12-team field will go to the next seven highest-ranked teams. Notre Dame is guaranteed a spot in the field if it is among the top 12 teams. The four highest-ranked teams (not necessarily conference champions) will be awarded first-round byes.

The festivities of bowl season kick off with the Cricket Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Dec. 12 and wrap up with the CFP National Championship at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Jan. 25. ESPN bowl gurus Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach will make their predictions for all the postseason matchups every week of the season until the actual matchups are set Dec. 6.

大学橄榄球赛季第5周迎来了三场排名对决，俄亥俄州立大学在客场取得了一场重要的联盟胜利，击败了爱荷华大学；密苏里大学以28分的优势击败排名前十的佛罗里达大学，震惊了整个大学橄榄球界；而阿拉巴马大学则以压倒性的33分优势战胜密西西比州立大学，让对方的牛铃声彻底沉默。本周我们看到了多场大胜、引发质疑的精彩表现，以及一直悬念留到最后一刻的激烈对决，接下来我们将分析季后赛形势发生了怎样的变化。

作为2026赛季的新规则，四大联盟（Power 4）的冠军将自动获得CFP（大学橄榄球季后赛）的参赛资格，同时排名最高的第六级别（Group of 6）球队也将获得自动晋级名额，无论其是否为联盟冠军。剩余的12支参赛队伍名额将分配给排名接下来的七支最高排名球队。圣母大学（Notre Dame）若能进入前12名，将确保获得参赛资格。排名最高的四支球队（不一定是联盟冠军）将获得首轮轮空资格。

碗赛赛季的帷幕将于12月12日在亚特兰大梅赛德斯-奔驰体育场举行的“板球庆祝碗”（Cricket Celebration Bowl）正式拉开序幕，并于1月25日在拉斯维加斯忠实体育场（Allegiant Stadium）举行的CFP全国冠军赛中达到高潮。ESPN碗赛专家凯尔·博纳古拉（Kyle Bonagura）和马克·施拉巴赫（Mark Schlabach）将在整个赛季的每周为所有季后赛对阵做出预测，直到12月6日实际对阵确定为止。

关键实体：公司：ESPN、梅赛德斯-奔驰体育场、忠实体育场、板球庆祝碗 | 人物：凯尔·博纳古拉、马克·施拉巴赫 | 地点：亚特兰大、拉斯维加斯、俄亥俄州立大学、密苏里大学、阿拉巴马大学