Georgia Likely To Headline First 12-Team CFP Field
Georgia and Ohio State Currently Lead the Way in the Early NCAAF Playoff Odds
SEC and Big Ten Teams Should Be Well Represented in 2024 CFP Bracket
The college football season is still months away from starting but the national title contenders are ready to use spring practice to get ready for a run at the championship. Some familiar teams are leading the way in the early NCAAF playoff odds.
This will be an interesting season with the College Football Playoff going from four to 12 teams while three of the four teams in the most recent College Football Playoffs having new coaches.
There are also plenty of changes in the makeup of the conferences, with Oregon State and Washington being the only Pac-12 teams that didn’t land in different conferences.
The NCAA football rankings are expected to be dominated by teams from the Big Ten and SEC, with both teams getting even stronger after the latest round of conference realignment.
Let’s examine how the 12-team playoff field could shake out.
Ready to Return to the Top?
Georgia’s bid to win three straight national titles ended when a loss to Alabama in the SEC title game kept the Bulldogs out of the College Football Playoff field.
While more Georgia players are headed to the NFL, there is plenty of talent returning for the Bulldogs to make a run at another title. Keep that in mind when looking at the early NCAAF playoff odds.
Quarterback Carson Beck, who threw for 3941 yards, is tied for the best Heisman Trophy odds. Defensive end Mykel Williams is being touted as a potential top-10 pick in the NFL Draft.
Expectations High For New Head Coaches
Things will look different now that former Alabama coach Nick Saban has retired, Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh headed to the NFL to coach the Los Angeles Chargers, and Washington’s Kalen DeBoer took over at Alabama. Michigan promoted Sherrone Moore to the head coaching position. It remains to be seen how that will impact the early NCAAF playoff odds.
Alabama is tied for the fifth-best odds at +1400 of winning the national title, with Michigan coming in seventh at +1600. Washington is well back at +7000 in the championship odds.
The transfer portal was not kind to the Crimson Tide as two of the top five outgoing transfers, according to the 247sports.com database, are leaving Alabama. Receiver Isaiah Bond is now at Texas and safety Caleb Downs landed at Ohio State. Offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor announced that he was transferring to Iowa, but now it looks like he could be returning to Alabama.
Texas A&M saw defensive lineman Walter Nolen move to Ole Miss, with receiver Evan Stewart transferring to Oregon.
Planting the Seeds
With the Pac-12 season ending, the other four conference champions are in a position to earn the top four seeds.
Georgia at +330 is the team to beat in the SEC with Ohio State the front-runner at +480 in the Big Ten. Florida State (+2000) and Clemson (+3000) could battle it out in the ACC, while the departures of Texas and Oklahoma could open things up in the Big 12.
When it comes to the NCAA football scores, the ACC once again has the Florida State-Clemson showdown early in the season, with the teams meeting on Oct. 5 at Florida State.
Utah (+6000) leads Kansas State (+7000) and Arizona (+8000) in the Big 12 as the Big 12 could lag behind the other three conferences.
Predicting the Bracket
The four highest-rated conference champions will earn the top four seeds and byes into the quarterfinal. That will likely be the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, and SEC champions earning those spots, but it is possible that another conference champion could take one of those top four slots.
A fifth conference champion will also be an automatic qualifier.
Looking at the current championship odds, this is how the field could look.
No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Florida State, and No. 4 Utah earning first-round byes. Boise State, out of the Mountain West Conference, would be an automatic qualifier and would be the No. 12 seed.
Texas, Oregon, Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, Penn State, and Notre Dame would complete the field.
The LSU-Ole Miss winner would meet Georgia unless the selection committee works to avoid matchups between conference rivals. The Alabama-Penn State winner gets Ohio State, Oregon would meet up with Notre Dame and Texas facing Boise State.
If the 2023 field was put together using the parameters for a 12-team playoff, it would have looked a little different.
Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama would have been among the top four seeds, with Florida State earning the final automatic bid.
The Florida State-Oklahoma winner would have played Alabama, Gergia-Ole Miss, Ohio State-Penn State, and Oregon-Missouri would have been the other first-round matchups.
A Quick Peek At the Early Matchups
A look at the NCAA football schedule shows some intriguing games in the first week of the 2024 college football season.
The Georgia-Clemson matchup on Aug. 31 could shake up the championship odds. Also, Florida State plays Georgia Tech, TCU meets Stanford, and Penn State plays West Virginia in late August, so things could change pretty quickly when it comes to the teams vying for spots in the College Football Playoff.
For NCAAF betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
