2024 Preseason 12-team College Football Playoff rankings prediction
By Ryan Stano
The Ohio State football program was the winner of the first-ever College Football Playoff. When it was just a four-team playoff, the Buckeyes came in as the four-seed and went on the most improbable run in college football history. They won a national title with a third-string quarterback.
Ten years later, the CFP has expanded to 12 teams and this is a new era of college football. A lot has changed in the last ten years, but the Buckeyes are still contenders to win a national championship. There's a reason that they are the second-ranked team in the country.
While the Ohio State Buckeyes don't start playing until the end of the month, the first college football games are played this weekend. We will predict who will be in the 12-team playoff every week, but we have to start with a preseason ranking. This isn't just where the Buckeyes will be, it will be where every playoff team is.
Seed | Team | Reason they are here | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
1. | Georgia | SEC Champion | N/A |
2. | Ohio State | Big Ten Champion | N/A |
3. | Florida State | ACC Champion | N/A |
4. | Oklahoma State | Big 12 Champion | N/A |
5. | Oregon | At-Large | N/A |
6. | Texas | At-Large | N/A |
7. | LSU | At-Large | N/A |
8. | Clemson | At-Large | N/A |
9. | Utah | At-Large | N/A |
10. | Penn State | At-Large | N/A |
11. | Notre Dame | At-Large | N/A |
12. | Liberty | Highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion | N/A |
Ohio State has a shot to be the top overall seed, but I'm not quite sure they get there. They will be no lower than the second seed if they win the Big Ten though. Either the Big Ten or the SEC are the best conferences in the country, so the winners of those two conferences are going to be the top two seeds.
I think the 12-team Playoff benefits Penn State perhaps more than any other program in the country. They are perpetually an above-average program and can't seem to beat Ohio State or Michigan. This could be the year that they finally are able to make the Playoff.
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At worst, the Buckeyes should be a 10-seed. They have too much talent not to be in the CFP this season. If they aren't Ryan Day won't be in Columbus any longer.