How This Works<\/h3>\n
The playoff is expanding to 12 teams this year. If we are being honest with the way 2023 ended it\u2019s probably overdue. However, there are still going to be teams that feel left out.<\/p>\n
The process goes as follows; the winners of the four major conferences will be seeded 1-4 by the committee. The top Group Of Five squad gets a berth, leaving seven teams fighting for the other spots. Champions of the Power Four get a first-round bye while the other eight meet in matchups at the higher seed. In addition, many of the New Year\u2019s Six games are now playoff games.<\/p>\n
With all the backstory out of the way let\u2019s get to our picks.<\/p>\n
College Football Playoff First Round<\/h3>\n
Friday, December 20th- (12) Boise State at (5) Texas-<\/strong> The Longhorns’ first game as an SEC member was a 52-0 win over Colorado State. Led by a career performance from Ashton Jeanty<\/a> the Broncos won arguably the best game of the weekend 56-45 over Georgia Southern. They remain our Group Of Five Team.<\/p>\n Saturday, December 21st- (9)Penn State at (8) Ole Miss-<\/strong> The Nittany Lions had one of the best wins of the weekend winning at West Virginia. Jaxson Dart<\/a> and the Rebels rang up 76 on Furman.<\/p>\n Saturday, December 21st- (11) Michigan at (6) Notre Dame-<\/strong> It’s hard to say the Fighting Irish may have clinched a playoff berth after one game. However, we’re saying it. A big fourth quarter from the Wolverines finally put away Fresno State.<\/p>\n Saturday, December 21st- (10) Oregon vs. (7) Alabama<\/strong>\u2013 The Ducks got all they could handle from Idaho before winning by 10. That wasn’t the case in Kalen DeBoer’s debut in Tuscaloosa beating Western Kentucky 63-0.<\/p>\n VRBO Fiesta Bowl- Tuesday, December 31st- (5) Texas at (4) Utah-<\/strong> There are at least five teams who could win the Big 12. We’re sticking with the Utes until something changes our minds.<\/p>\n Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl- Wednesday, January 1st- (6) Notre Dame vs. (3) Miami (Florida)-<\/strong> So far the Hurricanes look like the class of the ACC. As a result, they get the automatic bid following Florida State’s loss. Lots of history between these two schools.<\/p>\n Rose Bowl- Wednesday, January 1st- (7) Alabama vs. (2) Ohio State-<\/strong> The Buckeyes pulled away from Akron in the second half winning 52-6. <\/a>We’re trying to keep some tradition by sending the Big Ten Champ to Pasadena.<\/p>\n Allstate Sugar Bowl- Wednesday, January 1st- (8) Ole Miss vs. (1) Georgia-<\/strong>\u00a0Carson Beck<\/a> and the Bulldogs had no trouble against Clemson. The Rebels get to face the SEC champs and top seed in New Orleans.<\/p>\n Capital One Orange Bowl- Thursday, January 9th- (5) Texas vs. (1) Georgia<\/strong>\u2013 The Longhorns get past Utah setting up a battle versus the Bulldogs.<\/p>\n Goodyear Cotton Bowl- Friday, January 10th-<\/strong> (3) Miami vs. (2) Ohio State-<\/strong> Both favorites advance setting up an epic battle at Jerry World.<\/p>\n College Football National Championship- Atlanta, Georgia- Monday, January 20th- (2) Ohio State vs. (1) Georgia-<\/strong> The two best teams all year in college football meet in the title game.<\/p>\n Well, that\u2019s a lot to digest but we\u2019ve still got a lot more to come. Let\u2019s move on with the 2024 Week One Bowl Projections.<\/p>\n A few things to consider as we go through the remainder of the games. With the end of the Pac-12, many of the old teams from the league are eligible to fill those bowl slots. Those are the Alamo, Holiday Independence, LA, Las Vegas, and Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl. While Oregon State and Washington State are of course eligible don\u2019t be surprised to see former Pac-12 schools as well.<\/p>\n In addition, bowls try to avoid teams playing in the same game in back-to-back years. However, with all the conference swapping madness duplicates are a definite possibility. Let’s check out our next set of games with our 2024 Week One Bowl Projections.<\/p>\n TransPerfect Music City Bowl- December 30th Big Ten vs. SEC- Wisconsin vs. Oklahoma<\/strong>\u2013 Behind four touchdowns from Jackson Arnold<\/a> the Sooners also had an easy time in their first SEC game.<\/p>\n Reliaquest Bowl- December 31st- SEC vs. Big Ten- Tennessee vs. Iowa-<\/strong> The Volunteers just miss the playoff and go to Tampa where they haven\u2019t played since 2016. Iowa discovered offense over the weekend rolling up nearly 500 yards in a win over Illinois State.<\/p>\n Tony The Tiger Sun Bowl- December 31st- ACC\/Notre Dame vs. Pac-12- North Carolina vs. California- <\/strong>The Tar Heels got a big win at Minnesota but lost quarterback Max Johnson<\/a> for the year. This is an interesting one with Cal representing their old conference against their new one. However, they don’t play during the season so why not?<\/p>\n Cheez-It Citrus Bowl- December 31st- Big Ten vs. SEC- Missouri vs. Nebraska<\/strong>\u2013 The Tigers are a team many think could challenge for the SEC title.<\/p>\n Texas Bowl- December 31st- Big 12 vs. SEC- Kansas State vs. Auburn<\/strong>\u2013 Hugh Freeze’s squad rang up 73 points<\/a> on Alabama A&M on Saturday.<\/p>\n TaxSlayer Gator Bowl- January 2nd- ACC\/Notre Dame vs. SEC- LSU vs. Florida State- <\/strong>Pretty hard to believe the Tigers have now lost five straight season openers after the last-second loss to USC.<\/a> On the other side of the ball have the wheels fallen off for the Seminoles? Following up a loss to Georgia Tech with a home loss to Boston College is not a good look.<\/p>\n ServPro First Responder Bowl- January 3rd- American\/ACC\/Big 12- Texas Tech vs. Sam Houston State<\/strong><\/p>\n Duke\u2019s Mayo Bowl- January 3rd- ACC\/Notre Dame vs. Big Ten- North Carolina State vs. Indiana-<\/strong> The SEC and Big Ten alternate every other year in this contest and in 2024 it\u2019s the Big Ten\u2019s turn.<\/p>\n Bahamas Bowl- January 4th- Conference USA vs. MAC- New Mexico State vs. Bowling Green<\/strong>\u2013 The game is back in its normal home this year. In addition, it\u2019s moving from the first weekend to the last non-playoff bowl.<\/p>\n Continuing on with our 2024 Week One Bowl Projections let\u2019s move to the contests held just after Christmas.<\/p>\nCollege Football Playoff Quarterfinals<\/h3>\n
College Football Semi-Finals And Final<\/h3>\n
Filling The Void<\/h3>\n
Games Around The New Year<\/h3>\n
After Christmas Bowl Games<\/h3>\n
![\"2024](\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2024\/08\/USATSI_23666163_168400536_lowres-2-300x200.jpg\")