NCAA
College Football Playoff 2024 Predictions For The New 12-Team CFP Bracket
Colin Lynch covers the NFL, MLB and WNBA for Heavy.com, with a focus on the New England Patriots. His sports coverage has been featured on Finixio's The Sports Daily and Basketball Insiders, as well as FanSided's Chowder & Champions. A New Hampshire native and former D1 baseball player at St. John's University, Colin was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2008 and enjoyed a four-year professional baseball career.
Get to know Colin Lynch betterPublished30 Aug 2024
Predicting the College Football Playoff in 2024 will not be easy, given how much can happen between now and December. But here is the full 12-team CFP bracket prediction.
The expansion from a four-team to a 12-team College Football Playoff in 2024 marks a significant shift, even more impactful than the previous transition from the Bowl Championship Series to the four-team playoff.
This new format will keep more games relevant throughout the season, increase hope for more teams as the season progresses, and sustain heightened interest among fans.
The new 12-team College Football Playoff format will include the five highest-ranked conference champions, who will receive automatic bids. The seven remaining spots will go to the highest-ranked teams that didn’t win a conference.
The top four teams in the rankings will earn a first-round bye, advancing directly to the quarterfinals. This structure ensures that conference success and overall performance throughout the season are crucial for securing a spot in the playoffs.
So, who are our top-ranked conference champion picks?
Top 4 Seeds to Earn Byes
No. 1 Seed – Georgia Bulldogs – SEC Champions
No. 2 Seed – Ohio State Buckeyes – Big Ten Champions
No. 3 Seed – Utah Utes – Big 12 Champions
No. 4 Seed – Miami Hurricanes – ACC Champions
Georgia wins the SEC, Ohio State overpowers Oregon to win the Big Ten, Utah beats Kansas State to win the Big 12, and Miami beats NC State to win the ACC, setting up the top four seeds in the college football playoff.
First Round Byes (Seeds 5-8)
No. 5 Seed – Oregon Ducks – At-Large Bid (Big Ten)
No. 6 Seed – Texas Longhorns – At-Large Bid (SEC)
No. 7 Seed – Notre Dame Fighting Irish – At-Large Bid (Independent)
No. 8 Seed – Ole Miss Runnin’ Rebels – At-Large (SEC)
Oregon is the highest seed not to receive a bye. Texas is the No. 6 seed and the second-highest-ranked SEC squad. Notre Dame gets in as the No.7 seed and the only independent to make the 12-team field. Ole Miss is the third-highest-ranked SEC team and will host a first-round game in Oxford.
Seeds 9-12
No. 9 Seed – Alabama Crimson Tide – At-Large (SEC)
No. 10 Seed – Penn State Nittany Lions – At-Large (Big Ten)
No. 11 Seed – Kansas State – At-Large (Big 12)
No. 12 Seed – Liberty Flames – (C-USA Champions – Group of 5)
First Round Matchups
No. 9 Alabama @ No. 8 Ole Miss
No 12 Liberty @ No. 9 Oregon
No 10. Penn State @ No. 7 Notre Dame
No. 6 Texas @ No. 11 Kansas State
The first round sets up an all-SEC matchup and the top left corner of the bracket with Ole Miss, Alabama, and Georgia. The lone Group of 5 school, undefeated Liberty, heads to Eugene to take on the Big Ten runner-up. Penn State heads to South Bend to take on the Irish in a matchup of traditional college football bluebloods. In their first year in the SEC, Texas hosts their first CFP against an old Big 12 foe in Kansas State.
Quarterfinal Matchups
No. 8 Ole Miss vs. No.1 Georgia
No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Miami
No. 10 Penn State vs. No. 2 Ohio State
No. 6 Texas vs. No. 3 Utah
After getting past Alabama at home, Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin head to Sanford Stadium to take on the No. 1 ranked Dawgs. After knocking off Liberty in their opening-round matchup at home, Oregon squares off against ACC champion Miami. The Nittany Lions get the only road victory in the first round at Notre Dame to set up a matchup against Big Ten rival Ohio State. Texas survives Kansas State at home to set up a matchup with Big 12 champion Utah.
Semifinal Matchups
No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 1 Georgia
No. 6 Texas vs. No. 2 Ohio State
Oregon looks to win their third straight win in the CFP against the top-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Texas is also eyeing their third straight CFP victory as they square off against the No. 2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes.
National Championship Game
No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 6 Texas
Oregon and Texas pull off semifinal upsets over the two top-ranked teams in the country to set up a CFP national title game between the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds. Quinn Ewers leads the Longhorns, and Dillon Gabriel leads the Ducks in the first-ever CFP national championship.
