12-Team College Football Playoff Bracket Predictions after Week 12 features zero SEC teams hosting first round games
The 2024 College Football Playoff Bracket continues to completely change every single week. We just saw two top four teams lose a week ago. Week 12 action gave us two more top seven teams in the 12-Team College Football Playoff rankings that lost, likely tumbling down the board. So, what will the playoff bracket look […]
The 2024 College Football Playoff Bracket continues to completely change every single week. We just saw two top four teams lose a week ago. Week 12 action gave us two more top seven teams in the 12-Team College Football Playoff rankings that lost, likely tumbling down the board. So, what will the playoff bracket look like this week?
Just a week after losing 28-10 to Ole Miss, Georgia bounced back to defeat seventh ranked Tennessee 31-17, potentially knocking them out of the bracket completely. 3-seed BYU lost 17-13 to a surging Kansas team and now might lose their first round bye entirely. It might seem strange to see the three and eight seeds drop so steeply just based on one game, but the race for the final few playoff spots is a tight one.
Before we dive into predicting what the bracket will look like this week, here's where things landed in the selection committee's playoff projections last Tuesday:
Oregon and Texas almost assuredly remain in the top two seeds of the playoff bracket, but after that the entire rest of the field should look completely different from a seeding standpoint. Based on what we learned last week from the committee and applying the results from Week 12 games, here's where the rankings most likely land for this Tuesday's rankings show (playoff seed in parentheses).
Top 25 College Football Playoff Rankings Prediction
- Oregon (1)
- Ohio State (5)
- Texas (2)
- Penn State (6)
- Indiana (7)
- Notre Dame (8)
- Miami (3)
- Alabama (9)
- Ole Miss (10)
- Georgia (11)
- Tennessee
- Boise State (4)
- SMU
- Texas A&M
- BYU (12)
- Colorado
- Clemson
- South Carolina
- Tulane
- Army
- Arizona State
- Iowa State
- UNLV
- Washington State
- Memphis
Many fans have gotten used to the College Football Playoff rankings functioning rather simply. In prior years the top four teams got in, and that was it. This year though, the bracket is a bit more complicated. If you want a full run down of everything to know about the playoff you can find that here.
In short, the top four conference champions receive a first round bye. The fifth highest ranked conference champion also earns an automatic playoff bid, but they aren't guaranteed any particular seed. So, based on the Top 25 rankings above, this is how the playoff bracket would look:
This bracket is a wild one, with zero SEC teams getting to host first round home games. Quinn Ewers and Texas would at least get a bye to the Sugar Bowl in the quarterfinals, but no game in Austin. Jalen Milroe and Alabama could certainly climb higher to potentially host in Tuscaloosa as they are currently slated to make it to the SEC Championship game if they win out (and Missouri wins one more game to help with a tiebreaker). Jaxson Dart and Ole Miss still look like the hottest team in the country. And even Carson Beck looks like he's back to his old self for Georgia. The SEC could climb their way up the boards, but for now this strange bracket would stay almost entirely away from the south.
Ohio State, Penn State, Indiana, and Notre Dame would all host first round playoff games on campus in this particular scenario. Oregon and Dillon Gabriel would host the Rose Bowl, Texas and Ewers the Sugar Bowl, Miami (FL) and Cam Ward the Peach Bowl, and Ashton Jeanty and his Boise State Broncos would host the Fiesta Bowl.
Why those particular bowl assignments in the second round? This 12-Team College Football Playoff structure attempts to link conferences to their historically related New Year's Six Bowl games. And since BYU (in this case the implied Big 12 champion) ranks so low, below Boise State in the overall rankings, they would miss out on hosting the Fiesta Bowl.
You may notice that despite Tennessee being ranked 11th they would actually be the first team out. That is because although Boise State and BYU rank behind them, they're implied to be their respective conference champions.
The "First Four Out" would be Tennessee, SMU, Texas A&M, and Colorado in this scenario. However, these last couple weeks will likely shuffle these ranks up quite a bit yet again. Tennessee needs to win out and get some help from other teams losing, but they're far from out. SMU, Texas A&M, and Colorado could all be in line to win their conference championships. This pursuit to earn a spot in the 2024 College Football Playoff is about to get even crazier here very soon, but this (or something very similar) is likely what we're going to see this week from the selection committee.
Everything you need to know about how the College Football Playoff bracket works
The 2024-25 College Football Playoff is a historic venture. With the introduction of a 12-team bracket, fans will enjoy unprecedented competition for the first time ever. However, the new changes may confuse you about where your favorite team will play. We're breaking down how the College Football Playoff format works and have examples to give […]
We'll be back with more College Football Playoff coverage here at A to Z Sports all season long! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
