Bleacher Report

Bowl Predictions 2024: Updated Playoff Bracket Projections After Week 13 Rankings

Jake Rill

Through 11 weeks of the 2024 season, the College Football Playoff landscape has taken shape. The second edition of the CFP rankings were released Tuesday night, and it's becoming more clear which teams are seriously vying for spots in the 12-team field.

However, there are three weeks to go in the regular season, followed by conference championship week. So quite a bit could change before the CFP bracket is set.

For example, few could have predicted that Georgia would be on the outside of the Playoff bubble at this point in the season. The Bulldogs fell to 7-2 with a loss at Ole Miss last week, and they'll now face what will essentially be a must-win game vs. Tennessee this Saturday.

The SEC and Big Ten are loaded with top teams battling for limited CFP spots. Programs from the ACC, Big 12 and more are trying to push their way into the Playoff field.

Here's a look at some of the fallout from Tuesday's rankings release.

Big Ten Dominating the Top of the Rankings

Ali Gradischer/Getty Images

Four of the top five teams in the latest CFP rankings come from the Big Ten: No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Penn State and No. 5 Indiana. However, only one of those schools can earn a first-round bye by winning the conference championship.

At this point, the Ducks are the favorite to do so. They can also likely secure the No. 1 seed by winning each of their final two regular-season games (at Wisconsin on Saturday and vs. Washington on Nov. 30) and then capturing the Big Ten title. However, they're guaranteed of facing a tough opponent in that conference championship game.

The biggest regular-season Big Ten contest still to come is the Nov. 23 meeting between Ohio State and Indiana. The Buckeyes should be the favorite to win as the home team in that contest, but the Hoosiers are one of only two undefeated teams in the conference (along with Oregon). It should be a thrilling matchup.

While Ohio State, Penn State and Indiana would each host a first-round CFP matchup if the season ended today, But plenty could change over the next few weeks.

Texas Returns to SEC Front-Runner Status

David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Texas began its first season in the SEC by storming off to a strong 6-0 start. Then, it lost 30-15 to Georgia in a home matchup on Oct. 19, with the Bulldogs overtaking the Longhorns as the favorite to win the conference championship and earn a first-round Playoff bye.

With Georgia's recent slip-ups, though, Texas has capitalized and moved up the rankings. The Longhorns are now the top SEC team after improving to 8-1 with a 49-17 home win over Florida last week.

It's far from a given that Texas will win the conference title, though. It remains in a battle with Tennessee and Texas A&M, the latter of which the Longhorns will go on the road to face in their regular-season finale on Nov. 30.

But Texas controls its own destiny, and it appears to have rebounded since its only loss.

Championship Favorites in Other Conferences Remain the Same

Chris Gardner/Getty Images

BYU (Big 12) and Miami (ACC) entered last week as the highest-ranked teams from its respective conferences. That is the case again this week, even though the Cougars had to survive a scare (a 22-21 win at Utah) and the Hurricanes are no longer undefeated (a 28-23 loss at Georgia Tech).

Both teams remain in good positions to potentially get a first-round CFP bye as conference champions. That's especially the case for BYU, which still controls its own destiny. Miami is battling with SMU and Clemson atop the ACC standings and could need some help down the stretch.

Meanwhile, the fifth conference champion in the CFP field is still likely to be Boise State, which improved to 8-1 with a win over Nevada. The Broncos should win the Mountain West championship and solidify their place in the Playoff bracket, although they'll need to avoid upsets the rest of the way.

   

Read 31 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)