Pete Thamel Names Two Long Shots With Best Chance To Make College Football Playoff

The top college football teams in the country are receiving plenty of national coverage ahead of the 2024 season, but what about the potential dark horses that could make a serious splash?

Georgia, Texas, Oregon, Ohio State – there isn't much disagreement on who is expected to be near the top when the final rankings are revealed. But there are more spots available in the new era of the 12-team college football playoff.

Conference realignment and the expanded College Football Playoff have provided entirely new opportunities for unheralded teams to control their own destiny when it comes to national championship contention.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, West Virginia and Texas A&M headline the group of 12 "extreme long-shot teams" that could secure a spot in the playoff.

"I would say of this grouping West Virginia and Texas A&M are the two teams I feel like could do it," Thamel said on a recent episode of the ' College Gameday Podcast ' with co-host Reece Davis.

After two-straight losing seasons under sixth-year head coach Neal Brown, the Mountaineers were a surprise out of the Big 12 last season, winning nine games and finishing with a convincing win over North Carolina in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.

Following Texas and Oklahoma's departure to the SEC, the Big 12 is ripe for the taking, and Thamel believes that West Virginia could make its case in 2024.

"They have a lot of continuity on the o-line, a ton of continuity in the run game," Thamel added.

Running back CJ Donaldson returns as a junior after rushing for 798 yards and 11 touchdowns last season. Senior quarterback Garrett Greene is also back and may be one of the top dual-threat signal-callers in the country after passing for 2,406 yards and rushing for another 772 yards in 2023. He accounted for a combined 29 touchdowns.

Looking at the new-look Aggies, Mike Elko is entering his first season at the helm in College Station after two seasons at Duke. The Blue Devils went 9-4 in 2023 and were one of the surprises out of the ACC last season.

Elko has a lot of work to do in revamping Texas A&M following Jimbo Fisher's rocky tenure. The talent, especially along the defensive line, is why Thamel likes the Aggies as a potential playoff squad.

"The more people I talk to, the more optimistic I am that Texas A&M could have one of the better defensive lines in the country," Thamel said.

Although the Aggies lost two high-profile contributors in LT Overton and Walter Nolen, the return of Shemar Turner and the addition of Nic Scourton from Purdue, who led the Big Ten in sacks in 2023, could gel nicely along the defensive front.

Thamel went on to also mention home field advantage for both West Virginia and Texas A&M as a factor.

The Aggies will kick off the season at home against a talented Notre Dame team, while the Mountaineers will face an equally challenging test against Penn State. Both matchups will take place on Aug. 31.

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