2024 Week 1 12-team College Football Playoff rankings prediction
The Utah football team took care of business in Week 1 and their march to the College Football Playoff has officially begun. The Utes entered the season as one of the best teams in the country. And while Southern Utah isn’t a team they can really build their resume on, the domination they showed on Thursday night was enough to convince me they’re going to be a Top 10 team when the regular season comes to an end.
Week 1 provided quite a few shakeups to the field as we finally got to see what teams backed up my confidence in them and what teams didn’t. The good news here is that the Utah football team did what they needed to do to make me keep them right where they were in the College Football Playoff field.
While Cam Rising had himself a heck of a game, guys like Florida State’s DJU did not. That’s why the Seminoles fell out and the Miami Hurricanes jumped in. For the Big 12, Kansas is a new addition, as I think the Utes’ new conference will benefit from the ACC not looking impressive.
A quick reminder of how this all works. The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded 1-4 and each will receive a first-round bye. Teams seeded 5-12 will play each other in the first round on the home field of the higher-ranked team. Having said all that here's how I see things shaking out for the College Football Playoff field.
2024 Week 1 12-team College Football Playoff prediction
Rank | Team | Why are they here | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Georgia | SEC Champions | 1 |
2 | Ohio State | Big Ten Champions | 2 |
3 | Utah | Big 12 Champions | 3 |
4 | Miami | ACC Champions | 9 |
5 | Notre Dame | At Large | 5 |
6 | Kansas | At Large | NR |
7 | Alabama | At Large | 7 |
8 | Missouri | At Large | 12 |
9 | Penn State | At Large | NR |
10 | MIchigan | At Large | 11 |
11 | USC | At Large | NR |
12 | Tulane | AAC Champions | NR |
You might also notice that Tulane is sitting there at No. 12, replace the Boise State Broncos.
While I think the denizens of the blue turf are still the best team in the Mountain West, I'm no longer convinced that conference is getting a team into the field. Meanwhile, Tulane looks like a team that could lock things down in the American Athletic Conference.
The big winners of Week 1 is the Big Ten. With Penn State and USC's performances, I think that conference is getting four teams into the College Football Playoff field.