College Football Playoff Seeding and Bowl Projections #

The completion of college football’s conference championship games has led to anticipation regarding the seeding for the 12-team Playoff. Big Ten champion Oregon and SEC champion Georgia stand as the clear choices for the 1-2 seeds. Following last week’s rankings, Mountain West champion Boise State is expected to secure the No. 3 seed, while Big 12 champion Arizona State could claim the No. 4 seed. Meanwhile, ACC champion Clemson might miss a bye, likely assigned to the No. 11 or 12 seed.

The competition for the last at-large Playoff spot seems to be between SMU and Alabama. Despite SMU losing to Clemson through a last-second 56-yard field goal, it appears improbable that they would plummet from No. 8 to No. 12 in rankings.

Regarding other potential seedings, Notre Dame’s 11-1 record could see them move up to the No. 5 seed. On the other hand, Texas may drop to the No. 6 seed due to their 11-2 finish. A similar record from Penn State might result in them falling behind the 10-2 Ohio State, due to a head-to-head result, positioning them at the No. 8 seed.

As for the bowl games, predictions include a BYU-Colorado matchup in the Alamo Bowl and a Miami-Iowa State duel in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. The involvement of either Alabama or SMU in the CFP will largely influence the bowl lineups for the ACC and SEC. Non-CFP bowls have the discretion to select teams outside of the conference standings order. Additionally, legacy Pac-12 teams will remain in the Pac-12’s bowl lineup this year and in 2025. This setup might lead to the Alamo Bowl hosting two Big 12 teams against each other.