Projected 2024 12-team College Football Playoff bracket with 5+7 model adopted
By John Buhler
College Football Playoff: Projected first-round games
This is the best part of the new 12-team format. We have four win-or-go-home games being played on college campuses. The atmosphere at these four Power Four schools will be beyond electric. It will probably be among the biggest games played at each of those programs' stadiums. The home teams have a decided advantage, but eventually, somebody is going to play spoiler, maybe in 2024?
Here are the first-round matchups in this playoff projection featuring the No. 5 to 12-seeded teams.
- No. 12 Liberty Flames at No. 5 Texas Longhorns (Austin, TX)
- No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 6 Oregon Ducks (Eugene, OR)
- No. 10 Missouri Tigers at No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels (Oxford, MS)
- No. 9 Penn State Nittany Lions at No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Notre Dame, IN)
Texas puts out Liberty's flame fairly easily. Until proven otherwise the No. 5 seed has a massive advantage over the presumptive Group of Five champion at No. 12. Alabama at Oregon will draw a huge number, but I think Dan Lanning will finally beat Kalen DeBoer head-to-head. Man, wouldn't that be something? What would be wild is if a team lost at home in its first College Football Playoff game.
It will be by like one score, but I am taking the No. 10-seeded Missouri Tigers over the No. 7-seeded Ole Miss Rebels in a first-round upset for the ages. Luther Burden III becomes a bona fide superstar, Eliah Drinkwitz becomes a meme and Lane Kiffin gives us the best soundbite since "I'm a man! I'm 40!" Penn State and Notre Dame is another instant classic, but the Irish will play like champions, aight.
The only downside to this first-round matchup was that the other TV networks were not involved.
Advancing Teams: Texas Longhorns, Oregon Ducks, Missouri Tigers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish