Playoff projection includes five teams from the SEC, reflecting the conference’s depth.
Big Ten team comes off the board first.
Last at-large team in? Georgia.

With the first pick in the midseason College Football Playoff draft, I do hereby select . . .

*Wait while the faux suspense builds*

The defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes.

Who else, right?

The undefeated No. 1 Buckeyes possess no apparent weakness, and no ranked opponents remain on their schedule. They’re a slam dunk for the playoff.

On the most recent edition of “SEC Football Unfiltered,” the podcast I host alongside John Adams, we drafted our latest playoff projection.

We do this in tandem, choosing teams back and forth as we fill the bracket. Neither of us can veto the other’s picks.

We wound up with five SEC teams in our bracket, but no SEC team came off the board until the sixth round. That reflects the conference’s reality of being a deep league with a bundle of playoff contenders but no runaway front-runners.

In selecting the teams, we didn’t try to seed the bracket. Instead, we alternated picks choosing teams that we feel most strongly about qualifying for the playoff, while adhering to the playoff’s rules that at least five conference champions must be represented.

Here’s how our draft played out to result in a 12-team bracket:

My first pick: Ohio State

The Buckeyes’ robust defense, ironclad offensive line and wide receiver weaponry should protect them as they progress toward the Big Ten championship game.

John’s first pick: Miami

My thoughts on John’s pick: No argument. The Hurricanes put the hay in the barn early, with wins against Notre Dame, South Florida, Florida and Florida State. They don’t need to win the ACC to qualify. Just don’t collapse.

My second pick: Indiana

The Hoosiers proved themselves with a win at Oregon. They’re physical, athletic and propelled by strong quarterback play from Fernando Mendoza. The schedule becomes friendly, too.

John’s second pick: Texas Tech

My thoughts: Good choice. The Red Raiders are rolling. Put an SEC or Big Ten logo patch on their jersey, and they’d be ranked higher than their No. 8 spot in the latest US LBM Coaches Poll. Expect them to keep winning and keep climbing.

My third pick: Oregon

The loss to Indiana stings, and Oregon is left without a marquee victory thanks to Penn State’s collapse. The schedule is back-ended with games against Southern California and at Washington, but as long as Oregon keeps playing like the Big Ten’s third-best team, it’ll be fine.

John’s third pick: Ole Miss

My thoughts: The Rebels’ insistence on playing tight games every week causes me some unease with this pick, and road games against Georgia and Oklahoma are on tap. They enjoy some breathing room, though, thanks to their undefeated record.

My fourth pick: Alabama

Alabama has three ranked opponents left, but each of those games is at Bryant-Denny Stadium, where Kalen DeBoer hasn’t lost. The Crimson Tide show little resemblance to the team that flopped in Week 1 against Florida State. They look more like the SEC’s best team.

John’s fourth pick: Texas A&M

My thoughts: If Texas A&M wore Alabama jerseys, I’d breathe more easily. As it is, the Aggies’ history of shortcomings looms large. They’re undefeated but have road games remaining against LSU, Missouri and Texas, all ranked teams. Probably as safe as any pick at this point, though.

My fifth pick: Notre Dame

If Notre Dame beats Southern Cal at home this weekend, drop the blue and gold confetti. The Irish are in the playoff. Never mind the close losses to Miami and Texas A&M, because the schedule is cake after this weekend, and the committee is not going to omit a 10-2 Irish team.

John’s fifth pick: Tennessee

My thoughts: Tennessee’s defense makes me nervous. In three games against SEC opponents, it has allowed 36.3 points per game. Tennessee stands two losses away from a knockout, and Alabama is on deck.

My sixth pick: Georgia

One-loss Georgia’s dominance is long gone, but it usually finds a way to prevail. The win at Tennessee helps the résumé, but land mines remain. Not a foolproof pick, by any stretch.

John’s sixth pick: South Florida

My thoughts: A fine choice. We needed a Group of Five qualifier, and USF has looked as good as any team from this level. We’ll learn more in two weeks when USF plays at undefeated Memphis.

Our collaborative playoff projection at midseason: Ohio State, Miami, Indiana, Texas Tech, Oregon, Ole Miss, Alabama, Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Georgia and South Florida.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

The Minnesota Vikings are back in NFL action Sunday after their bye in Week 6 with a crucial matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Minnesota hosts the reigning Super Bowl champions in Week 7. A loss could drop the Vikings to last in the NFC North while a win could move them closer to division leader Green Bay (3-1-1).

So, no pressure – especially with a backup quarterback.

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell confirmed Friday that former Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz will start Sunday against Philadelphia, per multiple reports. Starter J.J. McCarthy is still recovering from a high-ankle sprain suffered in Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons.

Rookie undrafted free agent Max Brosmer will back up Wentz on Sunday.

Wentz has started three games for the Vikings this season, going 2-1. He has completed 69 of 100 passes (69%) for 759 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. He has added seven carries for 29 yards on the ground.

Minnesota marks the sixth team Wentz has started at least one game for in the last six seasons. His final year in Philadelphia came in 2020 when he went 3-8-1 and threw an NFL-high 15 interceptions.

Since then, he has played for Indianapolis in 2021, Washington in 2022, the Los Angeles Rams in 2023, Kansas City in 2024 and Minnesota in 2025.

With a win on Sunday against Philadelphia, he’d equal his win total as a starter over the last three years combined.

McCarthy, Minnesota’s first-round pick in 2024, was limited in practice this week on Wednesday and Thursday. The team may have decided to sit him Sunday so he’s ready to go on a short week for Minnesota’s ‘Thursday Night Football’ matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 8.

Vikings QB depth chart

Carson Wentz
Max Brosmer
J.J. McCarthy (injured)

McCarthy isn’t starting but will be the team’s emergency third quarterback for Sunday’s game.

The San Francisco 49ers are still recovering from a season-ending injury to All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner in last week’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The 49ers have had a tough year with injuries. Fellow All-Pro defender Nick Bosa is also out for the rest of the year.

Things haven’t been as bad on offense but San Francisco will have to wait at least another week to get their starting quarterback back into the lineup.

Coach Kyle Shanahan ruled out Brock Purdy for Week 7’s ‘Sunday Night Football’ game at home against the Atlanta Falcons, per multiple reports. Backup Mac Jones will get the start for the fifth time in seven games this season.

Purdy initially suffered toe and shoulder injuries in San Francisco’s Week 1 win over Seattle. He’s been on the mend ever since. His appearance in a Week 4 loss to Jacksonville remains his most recent game.

Jones led the team to a 3-1 record as a starter. The former first-round pick has completed 113 of 168 passes (67.3%) for 1,252 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions through four games. His 313 passing yards per game leads the NFL.

San Francisco struggled against the Tampa Bay defense in Week 6. The Buccaneers sacked Jones six times for 51 yards and intercepted him twice.

Atlanta ranks first in the NFL in pass defense with 139.4 yards allowed per game and are second league-wide in sack percentage at 9.7%. Jones may have another tough day against an NFC South opponent.

When will Brock Purdy return?

There remains no set timetable for Purdy’s return from his toe injury. He at least was practicing this week even if it was in a limited fashion on Wednesday and Thursday.

San Francisco heads on the road in Week 8 for a game against the Houston Texans. Purdy may return to the field then, given that he’s taking part in practices.

49ers QB depth chart

Brock Purdy (injured)
Mac Jones
Adrian Martinez

Jones is also dealing with knee and oblique injuries ahead of Week 7. If he has to come out of the game at any point, former United Football League MVP Martinez will take over for him.

It’s been a tough six weeks so far for the Dallas Cowboys defense. That unit ranks last in the NFL in passing defense and 31st in points allowed.

After a pair of road games against the New York Jets and Carolina Panthers, Dallas is home in Week 7 to take on NFC East foe Washington. The Commanders are looking to bounce back after a last-minute loss to the Chicago Bears on ‘Monday Night Football’ in Week 6.

Dallas’ defense will have to slow them down without cornerback Trevon Diggs for a bizarre reason.

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said the two-time Pro Bowler suffered a concussion at home Thursday night and won’t play Sunday against the Commanders, per The Athletic’s Jon Machota.

Diggs is off to a rough start this season. Per Pro Football Focus (PFF) data, Diggs is allowing a 154.9 passer rating when targeted. He’s allowed three touchdowns in coverage through six games which equals his season-long total allowed last year in 11 games.

Concussion recovery timetables vary from player to player. Diggs will be out for Week 7 against Washington and might not be good to go for Dallas’ Week 8 game on the road against the Denver Broncos.

With Diggs out, the Cowboys’ depth chart points to C.J. Goodwin as the next man up at outside cornerback. Goodwin has started one game in his 10-year NFL career – his rookie year in 2016 for Atlanta – but has played in all six games for the Cowboys this season. All of his 141 snaps this season were on special teams.

Drew Allar was once considered a potential top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
After a season-ending ankle injury, however, the QB’s stock could be headed for a major downswing.
Developmental QBs in the NFL draft can have a hard time latching on, and Allar might have a longer wait than anticipated.

Excitement about Drew Allar has long necessitated a bit of imagination.

That’s not to say optimism about the Penn State quarterback was ever unfounded. At 6-5 and 235 pounds with superlative arm strength and surprising mobility for a player his size, the former five-star recruit sparked visions of a playmaker comfortable dealing deep downfield from either the pocket or on the move. Things started to come together in the early portion of a 2024 campaign in which the junior signal-caller helped the Nittany Lions reach the College Football Playoff semifinal, completing 66.5% of his passes for 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions along the way.

Having eschewed the NFL draft to return to a loaded Penn State roster, Allar became a fixture of way-too-early mock drafts and preseason prospect big boards. It was only natural for others to jump ahead in projecting how far his skill set might take him if he made another leap in his development.

Could the Medina, Ohio, native be the savior of the hometown Cleveland Browns? Or might he break the New York Jets or New Orleans Saints out of their quarterback stasis? Perhaps he could learn under Matthew Stafford before taking over for a playoff-caliber Los Angeles Rams group. Or maybe he could serve as Aaron Rodgers’ successor for the Pittsburgh Steelers and conjure up Ben Roethlisberger comparisons thanks to his burly frame.

Regardless of where his play actually positioned him, numerous possibilities for a more prosperous future always seemed to be right at Allar’s feet. Now, however, the avenues for him to make good on his considerable potential have been cut off, with since-fired coach James Franklin revealing Saturday that Allar had suffered a season-ending injury, later revealed to be an ankle issue that would require surgery.

Suddenly, a player who once seemed like a good bet for the first round now faces a particularly perilous pro projection, with his spiraling draft stock potentially leaving him in the no-man’s land that has emerged for several players like him in recent years.

Penn State had plenty of problems in its multifaceted failure of a season, including a remade receiving corps not stepping up for the passing attack. But Allar also regressed at a time when the offense needed him to be the catalyst he had not truly served as is in previous years. His yards per attempt sank from 8.4 in 2024 to 6.9 this season. His ill-advised interception in double overtime against Oregon launched a three-game losing streak, with another bewildering pick against Northwestern accelerating the Nittany Lions’ slide.

For all those woes, however, it would be inaccurate and unfair to portray Allar as the gunslinger many assume him to be given his stature and powerful arm. To his credit, the quarterback set a Football Subdivision Record by opening his collegiate career with 311 passing attempts before throwing his first pick. His 1.3% interception rate is the lowest in school history.

And after the season opener against Florida International, Franklin indicated that Allar was actually dwelling too much on mistakes rather than embracing a let-it-rip mentality.

‘I think a couple times that happened where you miss a really easy throw that he makes 99.9% of the time and that frustrates you,’ Franklin said. ‘And if you’re not careful, that will linger.’

Of course, Franklin’s characterization was awfully charitable for a player who admitted he had trouble ‘making the easy throws easy.’ Allar completed more than 60% of his attempts in just one of his first five games, with the erratic ball placement and spotty mechanics that have dogged his career continuing to resurface. Short throws and quick hits that were routine for his peers were hardly guarantees for him.

But for all the problems Allar exhibited through six games, his 2025 campaign may go down as a greater disappointment due to missed opportunities. He won’t be able to answer for wilting performances in big games, finishing with an 0-6 record against teams with a top-six ranking. His struggles to rise to the moment when he was needed most were underscored by those matchups producing five of his 13 career interceptions, including a last-minute pick in the College Fooball Playoff semifinal that set Notre Dame up for a game-winning field goal.

It’s reasonable to ask, though, whether any of those shortcomings are disqualifying as they relate to Allar’s NFL draft stock. In a process that has permitted physically gifted passers a good deal of leeway in evaluations, shouldn’t a player of his tools be in high demand despite those performance concerns?

Maybe in another era.

The NFL world Allar is entering into is demanding more efficiency from quarterbacks while downfield passes dwindle. That doesn’t bode well for a player who has struggled to process quickly and respond to pressure, especially with star tigh end Tyler Warren no longer around to bail him out from troublesome spots this season.

And while teams have looked past the underwhelming college performances from the likes of Josh Allen and Anthony Richardson, among others, Allar can’t claim a comparable level of otherworldly athleticism or creativity.

With his lackluster showing this season, Allar likely has been leapfrogged by several potential 2026 quarterback prospects – including Oregon’s Dante Moore, Alabama’s Ty Simpson and Oklahoma’s John Mateer – while remaining far behind several more. But perhaps even more problematic for him is that the middle rounds of the draft have become somewhat of a wasteland for developmental signal-callers. As Shedeur Sanders learned in April, if a passer isn’t considered a potential starter in the near future, his wait might be far longer than anyone might have anticipated.

In the last two years, only two quarterbacks have been taken between the middle of the second round and the end of the fourth: Jalen Milroe and Dillon Gabriel. The former offered rare dual-threat ability that led Seattle Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald to plan a special package of plays for him, while the latter was a highly refined FBS record-holder for games started (63) who afforded the Cleveland Browns a degree of stability as they figured out a complex outlook at the position.

Allar is stuck somewhere in between those two. His physical tools don’t give him the same tantalizing upside as Milroe, but he might not be able to lock down a backup job in the same way Gabriel did. And that could lead to quite the tumble on draft day.

The worrisome reference point for Allar is Quinn Ewers, who preceded him as the top-ranked quarterback in the 2021 recruiting class. As a fellow three-year starter for a high-powered program who also led his team to the College Football Playoff semifinal, Ewers also generated a good deal of interest as a player who could rise up draft boards if his development took off in his final campaign. But his mechanics continued to take a back seat to his arm strength, and his college career remained plagued by overall inconsistency.

The result in the NFL draft: Despite many considering him a potential mid-round pick, he lasted all the way to the seventh, where he was eventually scooped up by the Miami Dolphins.

Maybe Allar’s fall won’t be that precipitous. If he’s healed in time for the pre-draft process, he could have the opportunity to showcase himself and hook the interest of a team that sees him as a potential future starter. As he wraps his collegiate career, he does so with a decorated résumé and more than a few backers.

‘Drew’s one hell of a young man,’ Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft said Monday, getting emotional while recapping the quarterback’s tenure. ‘He puts up with a lot of crap, and I get it. The NIL era, and he’s still a kid. There’s not a negative word that comes up when I think of Drew.’

It’s not out of the realm of possibility for Allar to become the ‘incredible pro football player’ Kraft said he was sure the quarterback would one day be. Envisioning just might entail a good deal of imagination and patience – and the NFL might be short on both for him.