Initial Reactions to Week 14 of the 2024 College Football Season

The. Chaos. Is. REAL!

Two teams in the top 10 have already lost, with Ohio State and Miami being the victims. Based on the results though, I believe the following playoff teams have been secured: Oregon (seed between 1 and 8), Penn State (seed between 1 and 8), Ohio State (seed between 5 and 8), Tennessee (seed between 5 and 8), Georgia (seed between 5 and 12), Texas (between 5 and 12). Texas would be in win or lose today. South Carolina needs help in my opinion. Even if Texas A&M beats Texas, I think they could use one more win in the SEC title game to cement their spot.

Pending the Old Oaken Bucket rivalry between Purdue and Indiana, and the ACC and Mountain West Championship, there are other at-large teams still vying for spots that need help to secure their spots. These include Miami, Indiana, Boise State, UNLV, Arizona State, BYU, Alabama, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M especially if they play for the SEC championship. I believe Indiana would secure a spot if they win over Purdue. And because Penn State secured the other Big Ten championship game spot, Ohio State cannot be further punished than whatever their ranking is on Tuesday, which I believe will be entrenched inside the top 10.

I predict the following rankings for the top 12 for Tuesday’s reveal (subject to be wrong due to the outcomes not yet finalized):

1. Oregon
2. Penn State
3. Notre Dame
4. Georgia
5. Texas
6. Tennessee
7. SMU
8. Ohio State
9. Miami (FL)
10. Indiana
11. Boise State
12. Texas A&M
13. South Carolina
14. Arizona State
15. Ole Miss
16. Clemson

Using these as a basis, I think the playoff bracket would be:

Four byes – 1) Oregon, 2) Georgia, 3) SMU, 4) Boise State

First-round match-ups: 5) Penn State vs. 12) Arizona State (Big 12 top ranked team), 6) Notre Dame vs. 11) Indiana, 7) Texas vs. 10) Miami (FL), 8) Tennessee vs. 9) Ohio State

First two teams out: Texas A&M, South Carolina.

Because of the change this season, per the Pasadena Tournament of Roses website, One of the quarterfinal games after the first-round matchups will be played at the Rose Bowl so it will not be tied to the teams that miss the playoff. This means that the other New Year’s Six bowl games would be the the semifinal and quarterfinal games, of which the others not named Cotton or Orange would be the quarterfinal games. From what I remember, these will be played on New Year’s day and New Year’s Eve.