College Football Playoff expansion: 12-team bracket from Week 2 CFP rankings

College Football Playoff expansion is looming and, after the release of the CFP rankings for Week 2, we look at what a 12-team bracket would hold.

Whenever we watch the College Football Playoff rankings get revealed, we are obviously focused on the top four teams as, for the 2021 season, those are the teams that will vie for a National Championship. However, it’s hard not to look at the rankings without thinking of the almost inevitable College Football Playoff expansion.

There has already been a proposal for a 12-team playoff at some point in the future and, even if it’s only to eight teams, it does surely seem like the days of the current format will be short-lived moving forward.

But that got us thinking, what would the 12-team College Football Playoff look like? Well, we put together the bracket to have a look.

College Football Playoff expansion: Bracket for 12-team format

Byes: 1 Georgia Bulldogs, 2 Alabama Crimson Tide, 3 Oregon Ducks, 4 Ohio State Buckeyes

In the proposed 12-team format, there would be four byes awarded to the top four seeds. So that’s where these teams sit.

12 Wake Forest Demon Deacons at 5 Cincinnati Bearcats

This would be a tale of two styles. Wake Forest has one of the most prolific offenses in the country but Cincinnati thrives on the back of an elite defense. This type of matchup is one of the reasons fans are desperately wanting College Football Playoff expansion because it would be immense fun to see how this type of game would play out.

11 Texas A&M Aggies at 6 Michigan Wolverines

Talk about an absolute slugfest.

While Texas A&M and Michigan have both shown some firepower at various times on offense, the fact of the matter is that these two groups find success predicated on top-tier defense. Thus, we would likely see a hard-hitting game that would come down to whichever defense showed cracks first.

10 Oklahoma State Cowboys at 7 Michigan State Spartans

Spartans fans probably can’t see this through the red in their eyes after they moved down below Michigan, a team they beat and have the same record as. Regardless, Michigan State-Oklahoma State would be another slobber-knocker type of game with gritty teams. How the Cowboys would contain Kenneth Walker III, though, would likely be a deciding factor in such a matchup.

9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at 8 Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma’s offense would have a big advantage in this game as the Notre Dame offense, though improved, has sputtered at times throughout the season. The big question would be if the Sooners defense, finally getting healthy again at this point in the season, could come up with stops, something that’s been a struggle for the program in the playoff in previous years.

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