It was an exciting Week 1 of college football, and with one game left to play, it's great to have it back. We saw impressive performances from most of my preseason predicted top 12 ranked teams, with just one team falling in the rankings.
2024 College Football Playoff Predictions after Week 1
We still have one game left on the Week 1 slate, but even if Florida State beats Boston College by 50+ points, my top 12 would remain the same. With that, here are my updated playoff predictions.
Rank | Team | Why are they here | Previous rank |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Georgia | SEC Champion | 1 |
2 | Ohio State | Big Ten Champion | 2 |
3 | Utah | Big 12 Champion | 3 |
4 | Miami (FL) | ACC Champion | 4 |
5 | Ole Miss | At-large | 6 |
6 | Texas | At-large | 7 |
7 | Notre Dame | At-large | 8 |
8 | Alabama | At-large | 9 |
9 | Penn State | At-large | 10 |
10 | Oregon | At-large | 5 |
11 | Missouri | At-large | 11 |
12 | Boise State | Mountian West Champion | 12 |
Oregon performance results in slight drop in top-12 rankings
My four preseason-predicted conference champions and top-four seeded teams handled their business. Utah and Ohio State had convincing wins over lesser opponents. Georgia dominated Clemson after a sluggish start to the game, while Miami embarrassed Florida in the Swamp.
The one team's result that made me adjust my rankings was Oregon. The Ducks won the game but did not look impressive, beating FCS team Idaho 24-14. Despite quarterback Dillon Gabriel's stat line of 41-49 for 380 passing yards and two touchdowns, Oregon was sluggish. A missed field goal, a fumble, and a turnover on downs for the Ducks resulted in the Vandals making it a 3-point game in the fourth quarter. The Ducks crept over the line for the win, but questions were raised.
I had them fall from No.5 to No.10 in my rankings, and they will play my Group of 5 predicted champions, Boise State, in week 2. Oregon now falls below Ole Miss, Texas, Notre Dame, Alabama, and Penn State in my rankings. The Fighting Irish had the most impressive victory, beating SEC team Texas A&M 23-13 in College Station. I could have jumped them above Ole Miss and Texas, but despite playing lesser opposition, there were no concerns in either of their performances.
Penn State looked good, convincingly beating West Virginia in a hostile environment while dealing with a stoppage in play due to a weather delay. The Nittany Lions beat the Mountaineers 34-12, and quarterback Drew Allar looked good.
Missouri and Group of 5 team Boise State both won, but the Broncos were made to work for it. They allowed 46 points to Georgia Southern, but six touchdowns from running back Ashton Jeanty helped them to 56 points. For now, Boise State stays in the top 12 as the best Group of 5 team.