Week 1 has come and gone, and although we saw only one top-25 matchup played, there were plenty of outcomes that affected this week's bowl and playoff projections. To start the five-day slate of games, UMass snapped its 16-game losing streak last Thursday with a big 37-21 victory over Rutgers to land the Minutemen a spot in this week's list. In LSU's first game in the Lane Kiffin era, it gained a massive 51-10 win against Clemson, finding itself going to the playoff quarterfinals in this week's projections.

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 other eight teams will meet in first-round games at the campus sites of seeds 5 through 8. The festivities of bowl season kick off with the Cricket Celebration Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday, Dec. 12, and wrap up with the CFP National Championship at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Monday, Jan. 25.