B/R
A nation turns its eyes to the polls Tuesday to see how a collective group of people voted.
That collective group of people is, of course, the College Football Playoff selection committee.
The committee released its first set of rankings for the 2024 season Tuesday, which was of far more interest than the initial Top 25 typically is at this point of the campaign. After all, this year is the first with a 12-team CFP field, meaning there are more teams with a realistic chance at competing for a championship.
No team is in a better position to do just that than Oregon at this point, as the undefeated Ducks already have wins over Ohio State, Boise State, Illinois and Michigan and check in at No. 1 in the first set of rankings.
Here is a look at the rest of the Top 25, which included such notable developments as undefeated BYU being down at No. 9 and one-loss Ohio State checking in at No. 2 and ahead of one-loss Georgia at No. 3:
- Oregon
- Ohio State
- Georgia
- Miami
- Texas
- Penn State
- Tennessee
- Indiana
- BYU
- Notre Dame
- Alabama
- Boise State
- SMU
- Texas A&M
- LSU
- Ole Miss
- Iowa State
- Pittsburgh
- Kansas State
- Colorado
- Washington State
- Louisville
- Clemson
- Missouri
- Army
It is important to note the actual Top 25 and projected 12-team field are going to look different throughout the season because of the CFP seeding rules.
The four highest-ranked conference champions will be the top four seeds and receive first-round byes. That means teams such as Ohio State or Texas may be ranked higher than the likes of projected Big 12 champion BYU but will still be lower in the projected field if one assumes Oregon and Georgia will win the Big Ten and SEC titles, respectively.
The fifth-highest ranked conference champion will also be rewarded with a spot in the field, although that team will not receive a first-round bye. Having a fifth conference champion receive an automatic spot means there will be at least one team from a league outside of the Power 4 that will be in the field every year.
Such access was rarely available in the four-team era, as the 2021 Cincinnati Bearcats from the American Athletic Conference were the only team from a conference outside the traditional power ones to make the CFP.
The other seven spots will go to at-large teams, and the rankings will be particularly important in those cases with home-field advantage now on the line. Another change with the expanded field will be home games in the first round, and the better-ranked teams will host those contests.
While the rules in place give a clear picture of what the field would look like if the season ended today following Tuesday’s rankings, the beauty of college football is everything could change on any given Saturday.
This coming Saturday, even.
The SEC will take center stage with Georgia going on the road to face Ole Miss and LSU hosting Alabama. The showdown between the Tigers and Crimson Tide could be something of an elimination game since both teams already have two losses, while the Rebels will also look to avoid a third loss and remain in the hunt.
As for Georgia, it will likely need to play better than it did in its last win over Florida to avoid an upset that would drastically alter the playoff picture.
Elsewhere, Miami and BYU face road tests against Georgia Tech and Utah, respectively, that could impact the race for a first-round bye in the ACC and Big 12. Indiana will also look to remain undefeated alongside the Hurricanes and Cougars and hosts Michigan in its final test before playing at Ohio State in a massive Big Ten tilt.
There is still plenty to be decided, but the top contenders now know where they stand heading into the stretch run.
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