Projected College Football Playoff Bracket: Texas, Notre Dame, Indiana, Georgia Hold Top Seeds After Week 4

Sporting News' latest 12-team College Football Playoff projection puts Texas at No. 1 with Notre Dame, Indiana and Georgia rounding out the first-round byes heading into Week 5.

The College Football Playoff picture is taking shape after a Week 4 schedule packed with ranked showdowns, and the latest 12-team bracket projection from Sporting News installs Texas as the No. 1 overall seed. Notre Dame, Indiana and Georgia fill out the rest of the projected first-round byes. The forecast reflects how the new strength-of-schedule metric could reward the SEC, which still has five unbeaten teams: Texas, Georgia, Alabama, Florida and Mississippi State.

Texas (4-0) owns what the projection calls the best resume through September, with wins over Ohio State and Tennessee. The Longhorns edged the Volunteers 20-17 at Neyland Stadium in their SEC opener, with Colin Simmons setting a school record with five sacks as part of a 10-sack team effort. Arch Manning went 14 of 19 for 201 yards with an interception and absorbed six sacks, but he led two touchdown drives. Texas gets a bye week before facing Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry on Oct. 10.

Notre Dame (4-0) sits second after a 49-10 rout of Purdue that closed out the Big Ten portion of its schedule. Drayk Bowen returned a fumble 15 yards for a touchdown — the defense's third score of the season — after a sack by Bryce Young. CJ Carr threw for 237 yards and three scores on 14-of-22 passing, and Aneyas Williams ran 14 times for 80 yards and a touchdown. The Irish host-level stretch continues with North Carolina in Week 5.

Indiana (4-0) is projected as the No. 3 seed and Big Ten champion after a 29-23 win over Northwestern in the conference opener, though it came at a cost. Running back Turbo Richard suffered a high-ankle sprain, and Lee Beebe Jr. took over as the lead back with 203 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Josh Hoover completed 19 of 29 passes for 201 yards and a score. The Hoosiers visit Rutgers in Week 5.

Georgia (3-0) holds the No. 4 spot as an SEC at-large after blowing out Oklahoma 41-13, forcing four turnovers including an 85-yard fumble-return touchdown by Chris Cole. Gunner Stockton threw for 171 yards and a score, hitting Tayln Taylor (four catches, 110 yards, one TD) and Dwight Phillips Jr., who stepped up with Nate Frazier sidelined. The Bulldogs meet Vanderbilt in Week 5.

In projected first-round action, No. 12 North Dakota State is matched at No. 5 Ohio State. The Buckeyes beat Illinois 42-19 behind Jeremiah Smith's record-tying four touchdowns on 12 catches for 217 yards, while Julian Sayin threw four scoring passes. Illinois did rack up 462 yards, the most allowed by Ohio State under defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. The Bison, now in the FBS as the projected Mountain West champion, were off last week after a perfect September averaging 35 points per game behind quarterback Nathan Hayes.

No. 11 Texas Tech visits No. 6 Miami in another projected first-round game. Miami closed non-conference play with a 52-3 win over Central Michigan, with Darian Mensah completing 88.7 percent of his passes on the season with 14 touchdowns and no interceptions. Texas Tech rolled past Sam Houston 49-14, highlighted by linebacker Austin Romaine returning interceptions for touchdowns on consecutive plays. The Red Raiders visit Colorado in Week 5, and Miami travels to Clemson.

The final projected first-round matchup sends No. 10 Ole Miss to No. 7 Alabama in an SEC at-large clash. Alabama hammered South Carolina 48-18, with Keelon Russell delivering his best performance yet at 21 of 27 for 365 yards and four touchdowns plus a rushing score. The projection also slots Florida into the field at USC's expense, while noting one-loss Oregon — a 41-27 winner over USC — and unbeaten Iowa, which upset Michigan 20-19, loom as factors that could squeeze the Big 12 and ACC out of multiple bids.