Projecting the College Football Playoff top 12 after Week 3 - ESPN

It's three weeks into the season and Notre Dame has dropped out of the playoff conversation with an 0-2 start following its home loss to Texas A&M on Saturday.

In what was a wild, entertaining evening of college football, Georgia's overtime win at Tennessee was overshadowed by what unfolded later in South Bend because the Aggies' win had the bigger, more immediate impact on the playoff race.

And it's going to last all season for the Irish, who no longer have any margin for error and have lost all control of their path to the playoff.

«The future's uncertain,» Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. «I don't know what's the playoff number, and it doesn't matter. We need to focus on getting better.»

So what does it mean for Texas A&M?

This list is fluid — and will continue to be early in the season. It is a ranking based on what each team has done to date — not last year or what it might do in the coming weeks. Here's the latest prediction of what the selection committee's top 12 would look like if it were released today.

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Ranking | Bracket

Why they could be here: The season-opening win against Texas remains one of the best nonconference wins in the country, but the Longhorns continue to have questions on offense against far less elite defenses. The Buckeyes entered this week No. 1 in ESPN's strength of record metric and are ranked in the top 10 in both offensive and defensive efficiency — traits of past top-four playoff teams.

Why they could be lower: The committee does track when teams play FCS teams, and the 70-0 drubbing of Grambling doesn't help Ohio State's résumé. Saturday's win against Ohio also doesn't do much for the Buckeyes during a week in which Miami, Georgia and LSU all played tougher teams.

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