The 2024 college football season may only have two weeks of action under its belt, but it’s never too early to forecast which teams have the best chance of making the new, expanded 12-team College Football Playoff field.
During SportsCenter on Wednesday morning, ESPN college football insiders Paul Finebaum and Heather Dinich were asked which teams they believe have made the strongest early season push for a spot in the CFP. Tabbing two programs that started the year ranked outside of the top 12 of the AP Poll, but have since made the cut with two straight strong performances to start the year.
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“ Miami with transfer quarterback Cam Ward has really taken a step forward, especially in an ACC conference that has been disappointing to start with Florida State 0-2, NC State losing to Tennessee ,” Dinich said. “This is wide open, and Miami went into The Swamp, albeit against the beleaguered Florida team, got a real win against their rival.”
“But to the point of looking the part, Miami has done that, that’s thanks to a good transfer portal class and also talented people all over the field, in addition to Cam Ward.”
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Miami entered the season with a lot of hype after head coach Mario Cristobal reworked the team’s roster through the transfer portal. Hype they’ve been able to live up to through two weeks after outscoring their opponents 97-26 between Week 1 and Week 2.
But the Hurricanes have also looked the part in their two matchups, along with the Tennessee Volunteers following one of the most convincing Week 2 wins across the college football landscape last weekend.
“And I’m going to go with Tennessee, don’t hold the fact that I have a degree from there interfering with my objectivity here today,” Finebaum said. “But the fact that they did win by 41 points at a neutral site against NC State, a team we thought would be a contender in the ACC.”
Along with a strong offensive performance that featured 51 points and 460 yards of total offense against the Wolfpack on Saturday, Tennessee’s defense has also not given up a touchdown this season so far. Tasked with an SEC schedule that gives them the opportunity to make some serious noise this season in Year 4 under Josh Heupel .
“Tennessee also has the advantage of having some really important games at home in October,” Finebaum added. “They have Alabama , which could be a playoff decider. They do have to guard off Norman, Oklahoma, in a week and that’s going to be interesting to watch where Josh Heupel goes back to where he once led his team to the national championship.”
Tennessee ranked No. 7 in the latest AP Poll with Miami trailing the Vols at No. 10, and it will be intriguing to see if both can hold onto their status as two of the nation’s top teams throughout the season all the way into the College Football Playoff.
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