Rapid Reaction: Initial College Football Playoff Bracket

Written By Tucker Harlin

By Tucker Harlin

The first official College Football Playoff rankings and bracketology released Tuesday evening on ESPN.

It’s important to remember that seeding and ranking aren’t necessarily congruent in the bracket due to automatic bids from projected conference champions.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the number of teams in the current projected field by conference.

SEC: 4

BIG 10: 4

BIG 12: 1

ACC: 1

INDEPENDENT: 1

GROUP OF FIVE: 1

BRACKET HERE:

RANKINGS HERE:

Here’s a breakdown of each of the first four projected matchups as of Tuesday night.

#12/12-seed BOISE STATE @ #2/3-seed OHIO STATE- Winner faces #9/4-seed BYU

Boise State beat out Army, who was left on the fringe of the poll at #25, for the group of five automatic bid. Ohio State is the top at-large bid in the rankings.

Keep in mind that the Broncos played current #1 Oregon to a three-point loss very early in the season, so they’re more battle tested than their Mountain West schedule lets on.

Ohio State’s last big hurdle in the regular season is a home test against Indiana.

The Buckeyes’ lone loss on the year is to the same Oregon team that gave Boise State its one loss. They also defeated Penn State, who has found its way into the initial College Football Playoff bracket.

Once again, the winner of this game plays BYU in the quarterfinals according to this week’s rankings. The Cougars have a pair of wins over teams in these current rankings in SMU, the first team out of the projected field of 12, and current #19 Kansas State.

#8/9-seed INDIANA @ #7/8-seed TENNESSEE- Winner faces #1/1-seed Oregon

Indiana has taken the college football world by storm, winning every game by no less than two touchdowns. However, Ohio State is the only opponent that has appeared in either the AP or College Football Playoff rankings the Hoosiers will face this season

Keep your eyes on the matchup in the Shoe on November 23.

Tennessee suffered a difficult loss at Arkansas in early October. The Vols acquired a pair of ranked wins before that loss, but both NC State and Oklahoma have since dropped out of all rankings.

However, Tennessee does have a win against Alabama, a team that has found its way into the initial bracket projection. The Vols play at Georgia in two weeks, a pivotal matchup both in the SEC and College Football Playoff race.

The winner faces Oregon, who has victories over both Boise State and Ohio State in this projection. The Ducks also won 38-9 over Illinois a few weeks back, but the Illini have since dropped out of the poll.

#11/11-seed ALABAMA @ #5/6-seed TEXAS- Winner faces #4/3-seed MIAMI

Alabama is the only team to find its way into the initial College Football Playoff bracket projection already having lost twice.

One loss is to Tennessee, a fellow member of this first projection. The other is to Vanderbilt, a team that fit into the fringe of the last AP rankings but didn’t make the cut this week in the College Football Playoff rankings.

The Tide has two wins over teams currently ranked in the College Football Playoff standings. One is on the fringe in Missouri while the other is current 2-seed Georgia.

Alabama’s last big test is against LSU, ranked #15 in the first College Football playoff rankings.

Texas lost to the same Georgia team a couple of weeks ago. The Horns’ lone victory over a ranked team this year was Michigan in the second week, but the Wolverines fell out of the AP poll two weeks ago.

The last ranked team the Longhorns will play this season is Texas A&M, who is currently the second team out of the projected field of 12.

Miami is projecting as the ACC’s autobid.

The Hurricanes have not played a ranked team all season, nor will they play one the rest of the season. The current model suggests they will play SMU in the ACC title game, who is the first team out of the initial field of 12 projection.

#10/10-seed NOTRE DAME @ #6/7-seed PENN STATE- Winner faces #3/2-seed GEORGIA

Notre Dame is the lone independent in the first College Football Playoff bracket projection.

The Irish’s one loss is a bad one to Northern Illinois, but they have wins over current #14 Texas A&M and #22 Louisville in these rankings. Navy was ranked in the AP poll when Notre Dame defeated it.

Army will likely be the last ranked opponent the Irish face in 2024.

Penn State’s one ranked win was over Illinois in late September, but the Illini recently dropped out of the AP poll. The last opportunity the Nittany Lions had at a ranked win was squandered last week against Ohio State.

Georgia’s has two wins over teams currently ranked. The most recent was over Texas who sits at #6 in the initial projections, and the first was over Clemson who’s on the fringe currently.

The Bulldogs face Tennessee and Ole Miss on in the next two weeks, both of which are opportunities to strengthen their résumé.

Tucker Harlin
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