ESPN's Updates College Football Playoff 2026 Bubble Watch After Week 7

ESPN released its latest College Football Playoff Bubble Watch this week, and LSU remains on the outside looking in with five games left in the regular season.

The Tigers (5-2) are listed on the "wrong side of the bubble," along with Alabama, Texas, and Florida.

ESPN currently projects four SEC teams to make the 12-team playoff field: Georgia, Ole Miss, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

LSU still has plenty of opportunities to improve its playoff résumé, beginning with Saturday's road matchup against Auburn. The Tigers also have upcoming games against Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, and Arkansas.

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Would Be In: Georgia, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Tennessee
Wrong Side Of The Bubble: Florida, Texas, Alabama, LSU
Too Early To Tell: Mississippi State, Missouri, Auburn
Out: Oklahoma, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Arkansas, Vanderbilt

Bracket

Based on the rankings in this week's projection, the seeding would be:

First-round byes:
No. 1 Miami (ACC champ)
No. 2 Ohio State (Big Ten champ)
No. 3 BYU (Big 12 champ)
No. 4 Notre Dame

First-round games: (On campus, Dec. 18 and 19)
No. 12 Boise State (highest Group of 6) at No. 5 Indiana
No. 11 Utah at No. 6 Georgia (SEC champ)
No. 10 Tennessee at No. 7 Ole Miss
No. 9 Kentucky at No. 8 UCLA

Quarterfinal games:
No. 12 Boise State/No. 5 Indiana winner vs. No. 4 Notre Dame
No. 11 Utah/No. 6 Georgia winner vs. No. 3 BYU
No. 10 Tennessee/No. 7 Ole Miss winner vs. No. 2 Ohio State
No. 9 Kentucky/No. 8 UCLA winner vs. No. 1 Miami

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