Projecting a 24-team playoff field with current CFP rankings
ATHENS — College football’s evolution continued with the official approval of the 24-team playoff this week, changing the landscape once again.
It’s a new look, for sure, with plusses and minuses that will be talked about throughout the offseason, and coaches like Kirby Smart working to stay focused on the task at hand this season.
The No. 1-ranked Bulldogs play host to No. 22 Missouri at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday looking to move closer to an appearance in what will be the final SEC Championship Game in history.
Playing the “what if the 24-team playoff was this year” game, Georgia would be looking to maintain a spot within the top eight teams to ensure itself a home game in the second round of playoffs in December (16-18).
It’s not hard to imagine a sold-out crowd in Sanford Stadium for a CFP playoff game, but how it might feel is another story, with the average Athens high temperature on Dec. 17 being 55 degrees with an average low of 35 degrees.
There will be other challenges with playoff games being played in winter months, such as maintaining good field conditions, and college games overlapping with the NFL schedule.
But the biggest takeaways from the 24-team playoff field are a larger inventory of postseason games for potential advertising revenue and more valuable television packages, and more college fanbases engaged deeper into the season.
Some teams could choose to beef up their schedules with the 24-team field affording a larger margin for others.
All Power 4 (Big Ten, SEC, Big 12, ACC) teams will be required to play 10 games against Power 4 competition (Notre Dame, an independent, also qualifies).
The CFP 24-team field seeding will be based on the CFP Selection Committee Rankings.
Five teams will be guaranteed automatic berths: Each of the Power 4 conferences champions and the highest-ranked team from the Group of 6 conferences (American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Pac-12, Sun Belt).
Here is what the 24-team playoff would look like based on the current CFP rankings:
First-round byes
No. 1 Georgia
No. 2 Utah
No. 3 Alabama
No. 4 UCLA
No. 5 Notre Dame
No. 6 Texas
No. 7 Miami
No. 8 Tennessee
First-round games
(On campus, Dec. 9-11)
No. 17 South Carolina at No. 16 Oregon
No. 18 USC at No. 15 Iowa
No. 19 Ole Miss at No. 14 Houston
No. 20 Ohio State at No. 13 Wake Forest
No. 21 LSU at No. 12 Texas Tech
No. 22 Missouri at No. 11 Kentucky
No. 23 Arizona at No. 10 BYU
No. 24 Boise State at No. 9 Indiana
Second-round games
(On campus, Dec. 16-18)
South Carolina/Oregon winner at No. 1 Georgia
USC/Iowa winner at No. 2 Utah
Ole Miss/Houston winner at No. 3 Alabama
Ohio State/Wake Forest winner at No. 4 UCLA
LSU/Texas Tech at No. 5 Notre Dame
Missouri/Kentucky at No. 6 Texas
Arizona/BYU at No. 7 Miami
Boise State/Indiana at No. 8 Tennessee
Quarterfinal games
Dec. 31, 2027-Jan. 1, 2028
Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl
No. 8 Tennessee pod vs. No. 1 Georgia pod
No. 7 Miami pod vs. No. 2 Utah pod
No. 6 Texas pod vs. No. 3 Alabama pod
No. 5 Notre Dame pod vs. No. 4 UCLA pod
Semifinal games
Peach Bowl, Fiesta Bowl
Jan. 13-14, 2028
National championship
Jan. 24, 2028
Caesars Superdome, New Orleans