2024 Week 3 12-team College Football Playoff rankings prediction
Week 2 provided a good glimpse into which teams are in the top echelon in the 12-team College Football Playoff field conversation early this fall. Teams ranked in the top three, like No. 2 Texas football and the No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs, have raked in impressive double-digit victories on the road or at a neutral site against ranked P4 foes in the season's first two weeks.
In Week 2, head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns defeated the defending National Champion and No. 10 ranked Michigan Wolverines by multiple touchdowns in Ann Arbor at the Big House.
Post-Week 2 2024 College Football Playoff Predictions with some separation in the top 10
We also saw shake ups in the top 10 for this week's 12-team Playoff projections, with the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish falling in a big upset to the Northern Illinois Huskies at home in South Bend. The No. 21 Iowa Hawkeyes were also upset last weekend in a tight one-point loss to the in-state rival Iowa State Cyclones at home in Iowa City.
Teams that had upset scares but avoided losses to unranked foes included the Oklahoma Sooners, Kansas State Wildcats, Oregon Ducks, Penn State Nittany Lions, and Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Here's a look at the updated 12-team College Football Playoff bracket predictions after some shakeups around the country in Week 2.
Rank | Team | Why are they here | Previous rank |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Georgia | SEC Champion | 1 (--) |
2 | Ohio State | Big Ten Champion | 2 (--) |
3 | Miami | ACC Champion | 3 (--) |
4 | Utah | Big 12 Champion | 4 (--) |
5 | Tennessee | At-Large | 6 (+1) |
6 | Texas | At-Large | 7 (+1) |
7 | Ole Miss | At-Large | 8 (+1) |
8 | USC | At-Large | N/A |
9 | Mizzou | At-Large | N/A |
10 | Penn State | At-Large | 5 (-5) |
11 | Alabama | At-Large | N/A |
12 | Boise State | Highest-Rated G5 Conference Champion | 12 (--) |
The three teams that dropped out of this week's College Football Playoff 12-team prediction were Oregon, Iowa, and Notre Dame. Each of those three teams either suffered upset losses in Week 2, or were nearly upset in close games as a home favorite.
After their losses last weekend, Notre Dame's chances of making the 12-team Playoff dropped by over 25 percent and Iowa by over 20 percent (per ESPN's Allstate Playoff Predictor).
Penn State was also the biggest faller among the teams that remain in the Playoff projection from last week.
We also welcome the USC Trojans and Alabama Crimson Tide into the 12-team Playoff field projections for the first time this season. The Mizzou Tigers also returned to the at-large group in the 12-team Playoff prediction after they were just on the outside looking in last week.
The three teams on the outside looking in this week for the 12-team Playoff are Oklahoma State, Oregon, and Iowa.
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