Nicole Auerbach and Joshua Perry’s midseason College Football Playoff bracket picks

Nicole Auerbach’s picks

First Round

No. 9 Tennessee vs. No. 8 BYU: BYU
No. 12 Oregon State vs. No. 6 Miami: Miami
No. 11 Ole Miss vs. No. 6 Ohio State: Ohio State
No. 10 UCLA vs. No. 7 Utah: Utah

Quarterfinals

No. 8 BYU vs. No. 1 Georgia: Georgia
No. 6 Miami vs. No. 4 Texas Tech: Miami
No. 11 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Notre Dame: Notre Dame
No. 7 Utah vs. No. 2 Indiana: Indiana

Semifinals

No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 5 Miami: Miami
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 Indiana: Indiana

Championship

No. 5 Miami vs. No. 2 Indiana: Indiana

Nicole's CFP projection assumes:

- Notre Dame beats Miami.

- Miami beats Wake Forest for a second time in the ACC championship game. Wake gets the BYU 2025 treatment and is left out of the field.

- Utah beats BYU. BYU doesn’t lose again.

- Unbeaten Texas Tech beats previously unbeaten Utah in Big 12 title game.

- Oregon State beats Boise State, then wins Pac-12 title. The committee ranks the Pac-12 champion ahead of the American/Sun Belt/other Group of 6 champions.

- UCLA and Northwestern each drop a game or two somewhere, and Indiana doesn’t. That should allow for a Big Ten title game rematch against Ohio State, which I have the Hoosiers winning.

Thank goodness we get a midseason re-do! I don't know if any of these picks or projections will hold, either, but at least I've got half a season's worth of information with which to make my educated guesses. It's also very possible that it's one of those years where we don't have any super dominant teams, and the chaos that's unfolded throughout October just continues unabated.

As you can see from some of my predictions, I have quite a bit of faith in Indiana to respond from its first loss in nearly two years. I'm nervous about Ohio State after the injury to Julian Sayin. I'm also banking on quite a bit of SEC cannibalism to pave the way for not one, not two — but three! — Big 12 teams to make it into the bracket. I'm also betting that Notre Dame beats Miami at home and doesn't leave its fate up to the College Football Playoff selection committee this year. But if the Irish lose, it's possible we're headed for a repeat of last year's late-season drama.

I like the Hoosiers to repeat as national champions after beating Miami (again) in the national championship game. This would be a pretty wild title-game matchup after such a topsy-turvy regular season to date. But why not? What if Indiana gets better and stingier as the season goes on, and what if Miami gets healthier and more electrifying — and gets hot at the right time, just like it did last year? Stranger things have happened in this admittedly very strange sport!

Nicole's midseason Heisman Trophy winner: Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. I said it in early October, and I'll say it again: It's Smith's award to lose. Now, he's got to navigate an injury to his starting quarterback, and that could affect his production. But everyone who watches college football knows he's the best player in the sport (and one of the best receivers in the sport's history).

Nicole's midseason National Coach of the Year pick: UCLA's Bob Chesney. UCLA and Kentucky are the nation's biggest surprises this season, which made this a tough decision. But I give the edge to Chesney with the Bruins undefeated and in the driver's seat for a College Football Playoff berth. Nobody — and I mean nobody — would have thought UCLA would be the last unbeaten team out of the Big Ten and SEC.

Joshua Perry’s picks

First Round

No. 9 Texas Tech vs. No. 8 Ole Miss: Ole Miss
No. 12 Boise State vs. No. 5 Utah: Utah
No. 11 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 UCLA: Notre Dame
No. 10 Tennessee vs. No. 7 Indiana: Indiana

Quarterfinals

No. 8 Ole Miss vs. No. 1 Miami: Miami
No. 5 Utah vs. No. 4 Georgia: Georgia
No. 11 Notre Dame vs. No. 3 Ohio State: Notre Dame
No. 7 Indiana vs. No. 2 BYU: Indiana

Semifinals

No. 1 Miami vs. No. 4 Georgia: Georgia
No. 11 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Indiana: Notre Dame

Championship

No. 4 Georgia vs. No. 11 Notre Dame: Georgia

Well, here we are again. If you followed my preseason picks, I'm sure you're looking at these midseason picks with a little side-eye, but here's my second crack at this year's CFP bracket.

Some items of note: I have the Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC getting three teams in, with the ACC only getting their conference champ in. Notre Dame will be a very intriguing topic of discussion if they lose to Miami, but I don't think the committee will leave them out two years in a row, even with a second loss and that poor strength of schedule.

I'm also curious about Ohio State. I think, even with a backup quarterback, they can navigate the balance of their schedule, but it's a storyline to keep an eye in for the balance of the season. This exercise is no easier after watching half a season of football. As a matter of fact, the picture may be cloudier than ever.

Joshua's midseason Heisman Trophy winner: Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. My only question is how much Julian Sayin's injury affects this.

Joshua'smidseason National Coach of the Year pick: UCLA's Bob Chesney. UCLA is the biggest and most fun surprise of the season.