There will be controversy in the inaugural season of the NCAA playoffs. That is the one thing you can make a sure bet on in Las Vegas this season. You can see our Top 25 or our team by team playoff projections.
The USC equation and no conference championship
If, as we predict in the final game of the season, Notre Dame loses to USC, the lack of a championship game afterward may keep them on the outside looking in. However, we do not see them dropping more than 7 spots, thus our #12 seed. At the time of this writing, Notre Dame has a projected 71% chance, up from 62.8% chance two weeks ago, of beating USC, according to ESPN. The one thing that one must take into consideration are the intangibles of the game that flips that percentage. With all of the controversial finishes in South Bend that left USC frustrated, turnabout is fair play. The frustration of a Trojan season that saw them beating LSU in the opener will culminate at season end with a three-game winning streak that started with Nebraska and last week with UCLA. With an opportunity to avenge the season, Notre Dame makes it a trifecta! Welcome to the one step up from the Whack-A-Mole Bowl!
SEC Carnage and the 2024 NCAA Football Playoff Bracket
Truthfully, you could easily put six or seven SEC teams in the bracket and it would be a great playoff. However, at this point it is controversial having four; But, hey that is like watching the reruns of MASH or Friends, you can recite the lines verbatim but its still never gets old. But, we have to move on, but who do you put in the dance? We have Tennessee losing to Vandy and Alabama losing to Auburn.
The loser of the Texas-Texas A&M game should still be ranked if they win the rest of their games. I cannot imagine a scenario where Tennessee breaks in to the system. Hmmm… interesting that NIL has three Texas teams in the hunt. Georgia is a weird team, there is always a feeling that there will be a let down somewhere, like a long bomb to a freshman wideout who zips along for a 75 yard TD! Sound familiar?
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Conference Losers
Ohio State and Texas A&M cannot lose the conference championships and be on the outside, regardless of their losses. The powers to be would have a field day with that. The third place finishers of the SEC and Big10 also cannot succumb to being outcasts when it was the tiebreakers that kept them there. Only party crashers like the Indiana Hoosiers and the Crimson Tide can change that dynamic. It has to be four from each of the SEC and Big10 at this point. We also predict Auburn to defeat Alabama in the final game of the season dropping the Crimson Tide for sure at that point! I know, we said that already.
The Hoosiers are poised to shake things up a bit. A win over Ohio State leaves them in the big show without exception. We think that the reverse is the more likely scenario, with a loss to the Buckeyes. It will be interesting what happens with Penn State at that point. It may be performance based assessment and polls that pushes Penn State out of the exact same spot where Indiana will fill. Also a win outright over the Buckeyes puts Ohio State in Penn State’s position and Indiana into the 5th spot. Just Google it!
Embed from Getty ImagesACC and the Big12
The ACC has the same carnage as the SEC, except with much lesser teams. We were personally rooting for Pitt because we love the defense, honestly. What this really comes down to is schedule weakness for the remaining games of both of these conferences. Clemson will more than likely lose one or two more games and Pitt will have a killer record, but their losses will be much more impactful due to the weakness of schedule. With SMU beating Pitt, the conference championship looks like it is heading for an SMU-Miami matchup come early December, with Clemson crying foul but still hoping for a playoff spot. However, that too will be a moot point once they lose to South Carolina in the season finale.
Iowa State’s loss to Tech was a real gut punch for the Big 12. But we did say they would not go unscathed. The Kansas State loss is really just adding insult to injury should the Wildcats upset the Cyclones. The whole Midwest waits with anticipation, as most people know that the Cyclones would probably lose to half of the SEC and Big10 conference teams. With that said, the rise of the Colorado Buffalos and ASU, may leave BYU out of the championship game in the long run. We expect BYU to lose one more game and be out for good.
Embed from Getty Images2024 NCAA Football Playoff Bracket
What could shake up the 2024-25 NCAA football bracket are upsets. And, we are heading into the upset season! But with that said, in the infancy years of NIL and free agency of the portal, despite a shakeup the powers to be will not have it. They will not have a Vanderbilt team or South Carolina come roaring on. Is it not based on polls, the peaking of a team at the right moment, or something simple as being a military team? Could Army beat Notre Dame and go undefeated for the remainder of the rear and still be out? Go Army!