Florida would be in the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket for the first time based on The Associated Press Top 25 released Sunday and the Gators would host a first-round game.
First-year coach Jon Sumrall’s team zoomed up 13 spots to No. 8 in the poll, which would give the Gators the last home-field spot and the Southeastern Conference a total of six teams in the field.
Texas, Georgia, Notre Dame and Miami would be the top four seeds and Ohio State, Indiana, Alabama and Florida would host first-round games.
The five highest-ranked conference champions — from the Power Four and one from the Group of Six — will qualify for the CFP. The other seven spots will be filled by the next highest-ranked teams. One of those at-large teams will be Notre Dame if the Fighting Irish are among the top 12 in the CFP’s final rankings.
The Big Ten would have two teams in the field and the Big 12, Atlantic Coast Conference and Pac-12 would have one each. Notre Dame would be in as an independent, and Boise State would represent the Pac-12 as the top Group of Six champion.
Based on the AP rankings, the CFP would open like this:
— No. 9 seed Mississippi at No. 8 Florida. Winner vs. No. 1 Texas.
— No. 12 seed Boise State at Ohio State. Winner vs. No. 4 Miami.
— No. 10 seed BYU at No. 7 Alabama. Winner vs. No. 2 Georgia.
— No. 11 seed LSU at No. 6 Indiana. Winner vs. No. 3 Notre Dame.
The first three teams outside the bracket: Texas Tech, Utah and Iowa.
The Red Raiders are ranked No. 12 by the AP but would get bumped by Boise State, the highest-ranked Group of Six team.
First-round games are Dec. 18 and 19, quarterfinals Dec. 30 and Jan. 1, semifinals Jan. 14 and 15 and the championship game is Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The AP will publish brackets based on the weekly Top 25 until the CFP selection committee unveils its initial rankings Nov. 3.
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