2024 Week Nine 12-team College Football Playoff rankings prediction
Tennessee football was off in Week Nine, but that doesn't mean its College Football Playoff outlook has changed. Texas A&M joins Texas and Georgia as frontrunners for the conference, while Alabama hangs on to its CFP chances with a 34-point win over a beaten and battered Missouri team.
Oregon continues to dominate in its first season in the Big Ten, handling No. 20 Illinois 38-9. The Ducks remain undefeated and hold the top spot in the country and the No. 1 seed in the Playoffs.
Penn State and Ohio State also stay in the win column, but not without potential heartbreak. Both teams survived upsets from their non-ranked opponents and will live to fight another day in a head-to-head matchup this Saturday.
The Big 12 is also wide open. Kansas State continues to struggle against inferior opponents, so it is jumped by Iowa State, which was off this week but is the only undefeated team in the conference and has looked the best out of the Big 12.
With the new 12-team Playoff, here is how it will look: Power 4 conference champions receive automatic bids and the top four rankings. The top Group of Five champion is the fifth team to receive an automatic bid, while seeds six through 12 are all at-large bids. Seeds five through eight will host seeds nine through twelve in the first round.
Rank | Team | Why They Are Here | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Oregon Ducks | Big Ten Champion | 1 (-) |
2 | Georgia Bulldogs | SEC Champion | 2 (-) |
3 | Iowa State Cyclones | Big 12 Champion | 9 (+6) |
4 | Miami Hurricanes | ACC Champion | 3 (-1) |
5 | Ohio State Buckeyes | At-Large | 5 |
6 | Texas Longhorns | At-Large | 6 |
7 | Penn State Nittany Lions | At-Large | 7 |
8 | Indiana Hoosiers | At-Large | NR |
9 | Tennessee Volunteers | At-Large | 8 (-1) |
10 | Clemson Tigers | At-Large | 10 (-) |
11 | Texas A&M Aggies | At-Large | NR |
12 | Boise State Broncos | MW Champion | NR |
On The Bubble
Kansas State went from Big 12 Champions to on the bubble this week. The Wildcats continue to struggle against inferior opponents and, despite continuing to win, have been jumped by Iowa State, which is 7-0 to this point in the season.
Notre Dame returns to the bubble in a dominant defeat over Navy. The 51-14 win put an exclamation point on the Irish's run after its Week Two loss to Northern Illinois. Notre Dame is rolling and could find its spot in the 12-team Playoff with Army and USC still on the schedule.
BYU is undefeated and sits on the bubble as a result. The Big 12 is fully up for grabs, and four teams have a realistic chance to win the conference and clinch their spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff. BYU joins Iowa State, Kansas State, and Colorado as teams with one or fewer losses in conference play.
Pittsburgh has quietly entered the College Football Playoff picture as one of the ACC's representatives. Pitt is 7-0, with matchups against No. 22 SMU and No. 9 Clemson on the schedule. If they can survive these games and make the ACC Championship Game, they could upset Miami for the ACC's spot in the top four.
Week Ten in College Football
Week Ten starts with a top-five matchup between Ohio State and Penn State. It will likely be for a spot in the College Football Playoff or at least a home-field advantage in the first round. Miami faces a hot Duke team, Georgia heads to Jacksonville to face Florida, and Iowa State and Indiana look to keep their undefeated seasons alive.