There won’t be a 12-team College Football Playoff for the 2021 season but that won’t stop us from wondering what the forthcoming format would look like.
Proponents of expanding the College Football Playoff seem like they will get their wish — just not yet. The 12-team proposal for the postseason appears to be a formality but it won’t take effect for at least a couple of years, if not longer. For now, as we come into the 2021 season, we will continue with the four-team playoff as per usual.
But that can’t stop us from looking at what a 12-team College Football Playoff would look like this season. Sure, there’s not a single game that’s been played yet in the 2021 season, but we know who the contenders are.
With that in mind, we’re going to use the parameters for the 12-team format — six highest-ranked conference champions with the top four seeds getting a bye and seeds No. 5-12 playing in the first round on the home field of the higher seeds — to construct the hypothetical College Football Playoff for this year.
For good measure, we’re going to predict how it would play out as well. So let’s start with the seeding.
12-Team College Football Playoff: Seeding
1. Oklahoma Sooners (Big 12 Champions)
2. Georgia Bulldogs (SEC Champions)
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (Big Ten Champions)
4. Clemson Tigers (ACC Champions)
5. Oregon Ducks (Pac-12 Champions)
6. Alabama Crimson Tide (At-large berth)
7. Texas A&M Aggies (At-large berth)
8. Cincinnati Bearcats (AAC Champions)
9. North Carolina Tar Heels (At-large berth)
10. USC Trojans (At-large berth)
11. Wisconsin Badgers (At-large berth)
12. Iowa State Cyclones (At-large berth)
Not only do I think Oklahoma is going to dominate the Big 12 this season, but it’s also not going to be particularly close. This could be as good of an offense as Lincoln Riley has ever produced but the defense will likely be the best it’s been since he took over the program. And with Alabama failing to secure the SEC, that opens the door for them being the No. 1 overall seed.
In regards to the SEC and the Crimson Tide, some growing pains for young Bryce Young are going to open the door for Georgia and Texas A&M to take the conference. With the Bulldogs having a more stable quarterback situation, the Dawgs get the edge there. A&M and Alabama still comfortably get into the field.
For the rest of the field, I’m least confident in USC getting in but, frankly, they just have too much talent to not be a top-12 team in the country. Clay Helton may have something to say about that but that’s a risk I’m willing to take.
With the field now set, let’s get the first-round matchups underway.