College Football Playoff bracket: A way-too-early projection of next season's field

And there you have it. The Ohio State Buckeyes have won their second College Football Playoff National Championship, their first since winning the inaugural one back in 2014. Ohio State was arguably the most talented team in the country last year, but all it took was a bad home loss to Michigan to help reignite the fire inside them. Nobody stood a chance against this team this year.

As we look back on Ohio State's run to a national title, the Buckeyes went 10-2 during the regular season with big conference wins over Penn State and Indiana, but a pair of losses to Oregon and Michigan that prevented them from getting to Indianapolis. After the Michigan loss, the Buckeyes beat Tennessee, Oregon, Texas and Notre Dame to become champions. Could the Buckeyes repeat?

Well, from my way-too-early College Football Playoff field projections, I say they have a great shot.

1. Ohio State Buckeyes (Projected Big Ten champion)
2. Texas Longhorns (Projected SEC champion)
3. Clemson Tigers (Projected ACC champion)
4. Iowa State Cyclones (Projected Big 12 champion)
5. Penn State Nittany Lions (Projected Big Ten runner-up)
6. Georgia Bulldogs (Projected SEC runner-up)
7. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Projected national independent at-large)
8. Tennessee Volunteers (Projected SEC at-large)
9. Oregon Ducks (Projected Big Ten at-large)
10. South Carolina Gamecocks (Projected SEC at-large)
11. Arizona State Sun Devils (Big 12 at-large)
12. Miami RedHawks (Projected MAC/Group of Five champion)

If we wanted to add some spice to this exercise, these would be the first four teams I would have out.

• 13. LSU Tigers (SEC)
• 14. Indiana Hoosiers (Big Ten)
• 15. Florida Gators (SEC)
• 16. Louisville Cardinals (ACC runner-up)

I will now breakdown why I have those 12 teams in, as well as those first four teams out of the playoff.

College Football Playoff: Way-too-early projection to make 2025 bracket

As you can see, I have nine of the 12 teams who made it last year getting in again. I have Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas out of the SEC with the Longhorns winning it. The Big Ten will be represented by Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State with the Buckeyes winning it. The Big 12 has two teams with Iowa State beating Arizona State. Clemson, Miami (OH) and Notre Dame round it out.

Of the nine returning teams I have in, I feel the most confident about these five getting in someway or another: Georgia, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Texas. These teams will all start next season ranked inside of the top 10. After that, I feel Arizona State, Clemson, Oregon and Tennessee could go either way, with me feeling the most confident in Oregon and the least in Arizona State.

South Carolina essentially takes the spot that was once occupied by Indiana as the seventh Big Ten/SEC school. Iowa State in a way takes the spot of SMU in the ACC/Big 12/Notre Dame cluster. I have Miami (OH) winning the MAC and getting in as the No. 12 seed. I do not see the RedHawks being ranked any higher than No. 17 when it comes to the final playoff rankings. They will be seed-stealing.

As for the first four teams out, Brian Kelly will be facing a ton of pressure for being close but no cigar on getting the LSU Tigers in. Indiana suffers a regular-season loss it cannot afford to get back in, this time with Fernando Mendoza at quarterback. Florida is about a year away with D.J. Lagway at quarterback. Louisville probably needed to beat Clemson in the ACC Championship to get in here.

Overall, it will be fairly easy to forecast roughly half the playoff field going forward. In a good year, you might be able to tab eight. In a bad year, you might get five. Most people would have been able to pick six-to-seven of the 12 teams who made it last year. Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon and Texas were locks. Notre Dame and Penn State were near enough. No one saw Arizona State, Indiana or Clemson.

Ultimately, there will be a team you and I and everyone else surely thought would make the playoff last year that came up painfully short. I mean, I had Utah going 12-0 and winning the Big 12 going away. The Utes did not even make a bowl game, man... So for every Ohio State bona-fide lock that you think you have, there is always an Alabama, Kansas State, Miami, Ole Miss or a Utah to wreck your plans.

I reserve the right to change this up until Farmageddon kickoffs off in glorious Dublin during Week 0.