2024 Week 7 12-team College Football Playoff Prediction
While the Texas Tech football team enjoyed a week off on Saturday, the college football schedule delivered a knockout slate of games. With several marquee programs squaring off in week seven, the landscape of the sport and our college football projections were altered dramatically.
With a 32-31 win over No. 2 Ohio State (which previously topped our playoff projection), Oregon moves into the No. 1 spot this week. That's the first time the Ducks have been on top of our projection this year. Now, it seems like they should be expected to run the table in the regular season given that they have no teams currently in the top 20 left on the schedule.
So with that said, let's take a look at our projection for week seven.
Rank | Team | Bid | Previous Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Oregon | Big Ten Champ | 6 |
2 | Texas | SEC Champ | 2 |
3 | Clemson | ACC Champ | 3 |
4 | Iowa State | Big 12 Champ | 4 |
5 | Penn State | At-large | 5 |
6 | Ohio State | At-large | 1 |
7 | Alabama | At-large | 8 |
8 | Miami | At-large | 7 |
9 | Georgia | At-large | 9 |
10 | Notre Dame | At-large | 10 |
11 | Tennessee | At-large | 11 |
12 | Boise State | MWC Champ | 12 |
Looking at this week's playoff field, there are no teams that fell out of the 12-team table. However, a number have moved spots. Ohio State's loss to Oregon dropped the Buckeyes to No. 6 making them the second team that would not earn a bye in the first round of the playoff.
Alabama jumped Miami because the Crimson Tide racked up another S.E.C. win. Though it was an unimpressive 27-25 home win over unranked South Carolina, the victory was another important data point in Alabama's favor. What's more, Miami can't say anything about being behind a team that has survived a scare from an underdog given how their last two wins have essentially come about by virtue of controversial calls that went their way in one-score wins over unranked teams.
Also of interest in Penn State. Their OT win at USC keeps them at No. 5 in the projection meaning they would be the highest-ranked team to have to play in the first round. However, if Oregon slips up, the Nittany Lions could become the favorites to win the Big Ten.
This week brings some intriguing matchups for teams in our projection. Miami has to travel to Louisville, Alabama will be at Tennessee, and Georgia will be at Texas. Thus it should be another intriguing week when it comes to projecting the playoff field.
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