Dukes and Ducks anyone? It would be Oregon vs. James Madison on latest AP Top 25-based CFP bracket

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Oregon's move up to No. 5 in The Associated Press Top 25 means the Ducks would play at home against the Group of Five representative in the first round of the College Football Playoff if the bracket were based on the poll released Sunday.

The CFP committee will release its fourth rankings of the season Tuesday night.

All 12 teams in the AP-based bracket are the same as last week. The top seeds remained No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 4 Georgia. Those teams would receive a first-round bye and advance to quarterfinals played at bowl sites.

The Southeastern Conference has five of the 12 teams on the mock bracket. The Big Ten has three teams and the Big 12, ACC and Sun Belt one each. Notre Dame would be in as an independent.

Based on the AP Top 25, the CFP would open like this:

— No. 9 seed Notre Dame at No. 8 seed Oklahoma. Winner vs. No. 1 Ohio State.

— No. 12 seed James Madison at No. 5 Oregon. Winner vs. No. 4 Georgia.

— No. 10 seed Alabama at No. 7 Texas Tech. Winner vs. No. 2 Indiana.

— No. 11 seed Miami at No. 6 Mississippi. Winner vs. No. 3 Texas A&M.

The first three teams outside the bracket: BYU, Vanderbilt and Utah.

BYU is ranked No. 11 by the AP but would get bumped by automatically qualifying conference champion Miami of the ACC. Vanderbilt is No. 12 in the AP poll but would be bumped to make room for Group of Five representative James Madison of the Sun Belt.

The five highest-ranked conference champions automatically qualify for the CFP, but no longer do the four highest-ranked champions receive a first-round bye. The 12-team bracket is now seeded directly based on the CFP’s final rankings on Dec. 7.

The top four seeds will be assigned to quarterfinals in ranking order and in consideration of current bowl relationships. This year, quarterfinal winners advance to the semifinals at the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl. The No. 1 seed would receive preferential placement based on geography.

Teams ranked Nos. 5-12 by the CFP will play in the first round, with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or at other sites designated by the higher-seeded school. First-round games are Dec. 19 and 20, quarterfinals Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, semifinals Jan. 8 and 9 and the championship game is Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

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