This season marks the first ever 12-team College Football Playoff.
And after weeks of games and speculation, the first official College Football Playoff rankings for the 2024 season have been released.
On Tuesday, it's Oregon (No. 1), Miami (No. 4), then Indiana (No. 8), BYU (No. 9) and Army (No. 18).
These teams were heavily featured in the first edition of the College Football Playoff Rankings and Top 25.
1. Oregon Ducks
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
3. Georgia Bulldogs
4. Miami Hurricanes
5. Texas Longhorn
6. Penn State Nittany Lions
7. Tennessee Volunteers
8. Indiana Hoosiers
9. BYU Cougars
10. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
11. Alabama Crimson Tide
12. Boise State Broncos
13. SMU Mustang
14. Texas A&M Aggies
15. LSU Tigers
16. Ole Miss
17. Iowa Cyclones
18. Pittsburgh Panthers
19. Kansas State Wildcats
20. Colorado Buffaloes
21. Washington State
22. Louisville Cardinals
23. Clemson Tigers
24. Missouri Tigers
25. Army Black Knights
The initial 12 team brackets have not been announced today, but according to the CFP rankings and how the brackets are set, here's how they stand after the initial rankings:
Top 4 seeds: No. 1. Oregon Ducks (Big 10 Champions), No. 2. Georgia Bulldogs (SEC Champions), No. 3. Miami Hurricanes (ACC Champions), No. 4. BYU Cougars (Big 12 Champions)
Round 1:
No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 12 Boise State Broncos (Group of 5 Champions)
No. 6 Texas Longhorns vs. No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide
No. 7 Penn State Nittany Lions vs. No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
No. 8 Tennessee Volunteers vs. No. 9 Indiana Hoosiers
It's important to see where teams are in the early rankings, but the rankings are not set in stone at this point. There are still many big games left on the schedule, so everything is subject to change. For a team like Oregon State, the path forward is clear. As the current No. 1 seed, all they have to do is win, clinching not only a spot in the playoffs, but also a spot at the top. Miami may need a little more help moving up the rankings as they haven't had any true quality wins, but making (and winning) the ACC title game would improve many of those issues. It should be.
The other two spots are, well, we'll see. In this version of the CFP, the highest ranked winners from the Power 4 conferences will earn the top four spots. So in this case, Oregon and Miami are shoe-ins. The SEC is currently going through some procedures, but Georgia is currently in first place with a bye. They still have games against Ole Miss and Tennessee on their schedule, but they maintain first place in the toughest conference. Following them is…what's going on in the Big 12. BYU is currently on top, but it doesn't look very good. We need a little more convincing win to keep the odds really high.
At this point, it feels like the Group of Five's spot is almost completely closed off. RB Ashton Giunty and Boise State are likely to qualify for the Group of 5 playoffs, but I wouldn't rule out Army just yet. Games against Tulane, Notre Dame and Navy could help their case more, but Boise's schedule gets easier as the Black Knights' schedule gets harder.
