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Projected College Football Playoff rankings: Predictions for who’s in, who’s out

Mark Giannotto   Paste BN
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After a Week 13 marked by upsets, this week's College Football Playoff rankings might be the most anticipated yet. There's so much still to be decided heading into the final week of the 2024 regular season, as the expanded 12-team playoff field is giving more teams than ever a shot at a national championship this year.

The latest batch of rankings will be released by the CFP selection committee on Tuesday night, with intrigue surrounding where teams like Georgia, Tennessee, Notre Dame, Indiana, SMU and Alabama slot in after a slew of unexpected results last Saturday that made this playoff race particularly chaotic.

With so much up in the air before the new CFP top 25 is released, here are national projections and predictions about what the rankings and playoff bracket might look like, as well as information on the 12-team playoff and how to watch the rankings release show:

WHO'S THE FAVORITE: CFP odds for every team vying for bracket spot in College Football Playoff

College Football Playoff predictions 

Erick Smith, Paste BN

  1. Oregon (Big Ten champion)*
  2. Georgia (SEC champion)*
  3. Miami (ACC champion)*
  4. Arizona State (Big 12 champion)*
  5. Ohio State
  6. Texas
  7. Penn State
  8. Notre Dame
  9. Indiana
  10. Tennessee
  11. SMU
  12. Boise State (Group of Five champion)**

*Receives first-round bye, automatic bid; **Receives automatic bid

Bracket – first round games

  • No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Boise State
  • No. 6 Texas vs. No. 11 SMU
  • No. 7 Penn State vs. No. 10 Tennessee
  • No. 8 Notre Dame vs. No. 9 Indiana

The Athletic

  1. Oregon (Big Ten champion)*
  2. Georgia (SEC champion)*
  3. Miami (ACC champion)*
  4. Boise State (Group of Five champion)*
  5. Ohio State
  6. Penn State
  7. Texas
  8. Notre Dame
  9. Indiana
  10. Tennessee
  11. SMU
  12. Iowa State (Big 12 champion)**

*Receives first-round bye, automatic bid; **Receives automatic bid

Bracket – first round games

  • No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Iowa State
  • No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 11 SMU
  • No. 7 Texas vs. No. 10 Tennessee
  • No. 8 Notre Dame vs. No. 9 Indiana

*Receives first-round bye, automatic bid; **Receives automatic bid

CFP rankings projections

Blake Toppmeyer, Paste BN

  1. Oregon
  2. Ohio State
  3. Texas
  4. Penn State
  5. Notre Dame
  6. Miami
  7. Georgia
  8. Tennessee
  9. SMU
  10. Indiana
  11. Boise State
  12. Arizona State

Heather Dinish, ESPN

  1. Oregon
  2. Ohio State
  3. Texas
  4. Penn State
  5. Notre Dame
  6. Miami
  7. Georgia
  8. Tennessee
  9. SMU
  10. Boise State
  11. Indiana
  12. Alabama
  13. Mississippi
  14. South Carolina
  15. Texas A&M
  16. Clemson
  17. Arizona State
  18. BYU
  19. Tulane
  20. Colorado
  21. Iowa State
  22. UNLV
  23. Missouri
  24. Illinois
  25. Army

When do College Football Playoff rankings come out?

The third College Football Playoff rankings of the 2024 season will be released Tuesday, Nov. 26 during an hour-long ESPN broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

A new top 25 ranking is released by the CFP selection committee every Tuesday through Dec. 3. There is a CFP selection show on Dec. 8 to announce the 12-team playoff field.

What time is CFP rankings? 

The College Football Playoff rankings are released each week through a CFP rankings show broadcasted by ESPN every Tuesday, from Nov. 5 through Dec. 3. This week's show is slated to air starting at 8 p.m. ET and ends at 9 p.m. ET.

How to watch CFP rankings reveal 

The College Football Playoff rankings show will air on ESPN, with the broadcast starting at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 26. Fans can also stream the rankings show on Fubo, which is offering a free trial.

  • Date: Tuesday, Nov. 26
  • Time: 8 p.m.-9 p.m. ET
  • TV: ESPN
  • Stream: Fubo

Watch CFP rankings show with Fubo

How many teams in College Football Playoff 2024?

There are 12 teams in the College Football Playoff for the first time this season, after college football introduced the CFP in 2014 with a four-team format. The expansion to 12 teams is set in place for the 2024 and 2025 college football seasons. Leaders within the sport have not agreed to the framework of the playoff beyond that at this point.

How does College Football Playoff format work? 

The 12 participating teams in the College Football Playoff bracket will be the five conference champions ranked highest by the CFP selection committee, and the next seven highest-ranked teams.

The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and receive a first-round bye. The fifth conference champion will be seeded where it was ranked among the top 12 teams, or at No. 12 if it is outside the top 12 in the CFP rankings. Non-conference champions ranked in the top four will be seeded beginning at No. 5.

"Because of this," the CFP warns on its website, "the seeding, 1 through 12, could look different than the final rankings."

For the first round, the higher-ranked team in each pairing (5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, 8 vs. 9) will serve as host on campus. The winners advance to the quarterfinals and match up with the corresponding top-four conference champion based on seeding. Quarterfinal games will played at the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The semifinals – played at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl Classic – will take place Jan. 9-10.

The two semifinal winners will play for the national championship Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

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