2024 Post-Week 0 12-team College Football Playoff prediction and seeding

Week 0 has come and gone; here is an updated College Football Playoff prediction and seeding.
The Florida State Seminoles' College Football Playoff chances took a hit with their loss in Ireland to Georgia Tech
The Florida State Seminoles' College Football Playoff chances took a hit with their loss in Ireland to Georgia Tech / Tom Maher/INPHO via USA TODAY Sports
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Even with just a handful of relevant games played, preseason projections for the College Football Playoff are changing already.

The Florida State Seminoles fell in Ireland to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, causing a lot of analysts to second-guess their ACC Champion representative in the CFP. Then, dark horse ACC contender SMU nearly dropped a game on the road to a bad Nevada Wolfpack squad.

The rest of the college football world will have the opportunity to watch their favorite teams take the field for the first time this weekend, and they are hopeful to avoid an early-season schedule blemish.

For the first time, the 2024 college football season will see 12 teams make the College Football Playoff instead of the 4-team invitation that fans have seen in the last decade.

The new 12-team format will require the four conference champions ranked the highest to be the CFP's top-4 seeds (getting a 1st-round bye), a 5th conference champion to make the field (seeded wherever), and a Group of 5 representative to be included (likely the very same 5th conference champion). The rest of the College Football Playoff field will be comprised of at-large invitees.

Here is the updated College Football Playoff prediction from Garnet and Cocky, Week 0 edition:

Rank

Team

Why are they here

Previous Rank

1

Georgia Bulldogs

SEC Champions

1

2

Ohio State Buckeyes

BIG Ten Champions

2

3

Utah Utes

Big 12 Champions

4

4

Clemson Tigers

ACC Champions

Unranked

5

Oregon Ducks

At-Large

5

6

Texas Longhorns

At-Large

6

7

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

At-Large

11

8

Kansas State Wildcats

At-Large

7

9

Alabama Crimson Tide

At-Large

8

10

Ole Miss Rebels

At-Large

9

11

Missouri Tigers

At-Large

10

12

Liberty Flames

Conference USA Champions

12

Teams Falling Out of Rankings: Florida State Seminoles (previously 3rd)
Teams New to Rankings: Clemson Tigers (first time in rankings)
Biggest Movers in Rankings: Clemson Tigers (from unranked to 4th), Notre Dame Fighting Irish (from 11th to 7th), Florida State Seminoles (from 3rd to unranked)

Even with just a small number of games having been played, an update is needed. Florida State was the #3-seed in the preseason rankings as the favorite to win the ACC. With their poor performance and struggles at quarterback against Georgia Tech, it seems more likely that the Clemson Tigers (or maybe the NC State Wolfpack?) will win the league. Also, Notre Dame likely feels more confident in their matchup against the 'Noles later in the season and could add an extra win to their resume.

There wasn't any other movement in the ranking (several teams shifted one spot because of the FSU/Clemson/ND changes), but it won't be long before that changes as week 1 of the college football season is here.

Next. South Carolina Football: Week-by-week projection for Gamecocks' 2024 season. South Carolina Football: Week-by-week projection for Gamecocks' 2024 season. dark