ESPN Projects The College Football Playoff Top 12 After Week 2

On Monday, ESPN's Heather Dinich took a crack at predicting what the selection committee's top 12 would look like if it were released today.

In her predictions, LSU would be the No. 3 seed and would receive a first-round bye as the SEC Champion. The Tigers would face the winner of No. 11 Iowa State - No. 6 Penn State in the Quarterfinals.

Last week, LSU was the top overall seed in ESPN's projections.

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3. LSU Tigers (2-0)
Why they could be here: LSU's win at Clemson is still separating the Tigers from other contenders, but it lost some of its impact after Clemson had an underwhelming defensive performance and its offense was stagnant for a second straight week -- this time against Troy. LSU had its own issues offensively against Louisiana Tech, which was able to put pressure on quarterback Garrett Nussmeier throughout the game. LSU struggled to establish the run and push the ball downfield through the bulk of three quarters against Louisiana Tech. While LSU struggled, both Ohio State and Miami left no doubt they were the better team.

Why they could be higher: The selection committee does consider factors such as where the game was played, and of the top three teams, LSU is the only one with a win on the road against what is probably still a CFP Top 25 team.

Need to know: The CFP selection committee this year is using a metric called "record strength" to help determine how a team performed against its schedule. LSU entered Week 2 ranked No. 2 in ESPN's strength of record metric, second only to Ohio State.

Toughest remaining game: Sept. 27 at Ole Miss. The Rebels just beat Kentucky 30-23 for their first SEC win and have a 69.8% chance to beat LSU, according to ESPN's FPI.

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Bracket:

First-round byes
No. 1 Ohio State (Big Ten champ)
No. 2 Miami (ACC champ)
No. 3 LSU (SEC champ)
No. 4 Florida State

First-round games - On campus, Dec. 19 and 20
No. 12 USF (American champ) at No. 5 Oregon
No. 11 Iowa State (Big 12 champ) at No. 6 Penn State
No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Tennessee
No. 9 Texas at No. 8 Georgia

Quarterfinal games - Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
No. 12 USF/No. 5 Oregon winner vs. No. 4 Florida State
No. 11 Iowa State/No. 6 Penn State winner vs. No. 3 LSU
No. 10 Notre Dame/No. 7 Tennessee winner vs. No. 2 Miami
No. 9 Texas/No. 8 Georgia winner vs. No. 1 Ohio State