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After months of extended debate among conference commissioners and other power brokers in the sport, the College Football Playoff has finally settled on its format for the 2024 season. With the collapse of the Pac-12, the number of automatic qualifiers is set to shrink from six to five, allowing the amount of at-large selections to grow by one to seven.
Starting with the ’24 season, 12 teams – the five highest-rated conference champions and seven highest-ranked at-large selections by the CFB Playoff selection committee – will make the College Football Playoff. The top four teams receive a bye, with the first-round games slated to be played at home sites of the top seed. Beginning with the quarterfinals, all games through the national championship will be played at bowl or neutral sites.
With the format officially set and spring practice right around the corner, it’s never too early to think about how the CFB Playoff will look by December. Athlon Sports projects the CFB Playoff prior to spring practice:
College Football Pre-Spring 12-Team Playoff Projections for 2024
Projected Top 12 Teams and Seeding
Top 12 and just missed teams recorded from Athlon Sports Post-Signing Day Top 25 for 2024
The Top Four
1. Georgia (Projected SEC Champion)
2. Ohio State (Projected Big Ten Champion)
3. Utah (Projected Big 12 Champion)
4. Florida State (Projected ACC Champion
5-12 Seeding and Projected Teams in the CFB Playoff
5. Texas
6. Oregon
7. Alabama
8. Ole Miss
9. Michigan
10. Penn State
11. Notre Dame
12. Liberty (Projected CUSA Champion + Highest-Rated G5 Team)
Just Missed: Missouri, Tennessee, LSU, Oklahoma, Clemson, Arizona, and Kansas State
Projected First-Round Matchups
First-round games will be placed on campus sites of highest seed. Matchups will take place from Dec. 20-21.
No. 5 Texas vs. No. 12 Liberty (Austin, Texas)
No. 6 Oregon vs. No. 11 Notre Dame (Eugene, Ore.)
No. 7 Alabama vs. No. 10 Penn State (Tuscaloosa, Ala.)
No. 8 Ole Miss vs. No. 9 Michigan (Oxford, Miss.)
Projected Second-Round Matchups
Second-round games will be played at bowl sites and will take place from Dec. 31-Jan. 1.
No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 8 Ole Miss (Peach Bowl, Jan. 1)
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 7 Alabama (Rose Bowl, Jan. 1)
No. 3 Utah vs. No. 6 Oregon (Fiesta Bowl, Dec. 31)
No. 4 Florida State vs. No. 5 Texas (Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1)
Semifinals
Semifinal games will be played at bowl sites. Matchups are scheduled for Jan. 9-10.
No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 5 Texas (Orange Bowl, Jan. 9)
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 6 Oregon (Cotton Bowl, Jan. 10)
CFB National Championship
Jan. 20, 2025 in Atlanta, Ga.
No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 2 Ohio State
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