October is almost over, which means there is one month left in the season before conference title matchups and bowl games.
It is also when early College Football Playoff projections are starting to form. Three of the top sports media brands are on the same page with projections of teams expected to make the postseason.
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ESPN’s Senior College Football Insider Heather Dinich has five SEC teams expected to be in the top-12. Across ESPN, CBS and Sports Illustrated, teams like Notre Dame, Texas Tech and Memphis made its way into the top 12.
There is still some time for teams to be shuffled around and change its ranking but here is where things stand heading into Week 10:
Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko calls out from the sideline in the first half Oct. 25, 2025 in Baton Rouge, La.
Gerald Herbert/Associated Press
Texas A&M in its CFP ranking
According to the aforementioned projections, Texas A&M will earn a first round bye to play in either the Sugar Bowl of the Cotton Bowl. Sports Illustrated is the only outlet to project the Aggies as the No. 3 seed, ahead of Alabama. ESPN and CBS Sports have the Aggies seeded No. 4 (Both 5-0 in conference play, Alabama and A&M are on pace to meet in the SEC title game).
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Texas A&M (8-0, 5-0 SEC) continued its impressive conference victory train Saturday night with a 49-25 win over the LSU Tigers in Death Valley. Marcel Reed led the way with 202 all-purpose yards and four total touchdowns.
After beating Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. earlier in the season, the Aggies have two ranked wins under their belt.
They go into a bye week before playing No. 15 Missouri, South Carolina, Samford and No. 22 Texas. Alabama ends the season against LSU, Oklahoma, Eastern Illinois and Auburn.
MORE: Both Aggies’ front lines dominate in 49-25 road win
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MORE: Defense struggles but Arch Manning, passing game ace test
Texas is out, Vanderbilt is in
The Texas Longhorns (6-2, 3-1) went from being ranked No. 1 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll to No. 22 in the rankings. They even fell out of the polls before reeling off two overtime wins.
Last season, the Longhorns made it to a CFP quarterfinal against Clemson. Now, there is not a New Year’s Six bowl in sight for the Longhorns.
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Instead, the Diego Pavia led No. 10 Vanderbilt Commodores (7-1, 3-1) are taking what could have been the Longhorns’ spot in each of the projections. The Commodores’ only loss was a 30-14 defeat against Alabama.
If Vanderbilt wants to further cement itself as a true contender in the CFP, they have a chance to do it Saturday in Austin against a banged-up Longhorns team.
Texas head football coach Steve Sarkisian reacts after the Longhorns’ comeback win against Mississippi State on Oct. 25, 2025 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss.
Justin Ford/Getty Images
Is the top of the Big Ten better than the top of the SEC?
While the SEC has two teams expected to have a first round bye, in two of the projections, the top two spots go to undefeated Big Ten teams Ohio State (7-0, 4-0) and Indiana (8-0, 5-0).
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CBS, ESPN and SI project the Buckeyes to be the No. 1 overall seed. The Hoosiers are No. 2 for SI and ESPN and No. 3, behind Bama, per CBS.
The only ranked team left on the Buckeyes’ schedule is No. 25 Michigan. Indiana does not play a ranked team to finish out its schedule as it stands now.
The only other Big Ten team to make the CFP is Oregon at the projected No. 6 or No. 8 seed. Joining A&M, Alabama and Vanderbilt in the projections are SEC teams Ole Miss and Georgia.
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