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.