College Football Playoff: ESPN predicts 2024 12-team bracket, full bowl slate after Week 1
By Nick Schultz,
2024-09-03
Week 1 is in the books, and the race for the College Football Playoff is already taking some new turns. There were some big games on tamp to open the 2024 season, and ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura have updated their predictions for the 12-team CFP bracket and the full slate of bowl games.
The AP Top 25 took on a new look after a wild week of action, including a second loss for Florida State . FSU was squarely in the CFP picture in ESPN’s preseason bowl game projections, but is now on the outside looking in after this week’s update.
The top teams remained the same, though. Georgia and Ohio State came in as likely contenders for the national championship after Week 1, and some new faces emerged in the College Football Playoff picture.
That includes Kansas , which came in as a No. 11 seed in Mark Schlabach’s projections. The Jayhawks got a resounding 48-3 win over Lindenwood to start the season as they look to make a run in the new-look Big 12.
The spring to the College Football Playoff is officially on with the season underway. Here are ESPN’s full predictions for the entire slate of bowl games, from the Celebration Bowl through the national championship.
Alabama lifted the curtain on the 2024 season with a 63-0 victory over Western Kentucky to kick off the Kalen DeBoer era. Of the Group of Five representatives in ESPN’s bowl game projections, Boise State had one of the most notable days as Asthon Jeanty ran for six touchdowns after the program started his Heisman Trophy campaign before the opener.
Texas started its 2024 season hot with a 52-0 win over Colorado State , which saw both Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning get some run. In ESPN’s projections, the Longhorns go up against Big 12 opponents as Schlabach projected Kansas to get the No. 11 seed and Bonagura predicted Arizona to do so.
College Football Playoff: First-round game #3
MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK
Notre Dame had one of the biggest wins of Week 1, going into Texas A&M and defeating the Aggies in primetime. That set the Fighting Irish up for a path to the College Football Playoff, and both ESPN analysts predict Ole Miss to take on the Fighting Irish.
Oregon had an interesting Week 1 game against Idaho , which saw the Ducks drop in the AP poll. However, the Ducks still look primed for a run in the new Big Ten, and ESPN has conference rivals Michigan and Penn State as their opponents in the CFP projections.
Utah started off its Big 12 run in a weeknight matchup against Southern Utah , and it was all Utes en route to the 49-0 victory. Their hopes of a Big 12 run look strong, which could set them up for matchups against Texas or Alabama in ESPN’s projections.
Another big-time Week 1 victory came in Gainesville where a revamped Miami cruised past Florida in their rivalry matchup. Both Schlabach and Bonagura project the Hurricanes to win the ACC, although their opponents differe in their College Football Playoff predictions.
It didn’t take long for Ohio State’s playmakers to make their presences felt in the opener against Akron – most notably Jeremiah Smith , who had 92 yards and two touchdowns to lead the charge. The Buckeyes will keep trying to live up to the hype, and both ESPN analysts have them as the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff field.
Both Schlabach and Bonagura predict a teacher-against-student matchup in the Sugar Bowl. They have Dan Lanning squaring off against his former boss, Kirby Smart , and No. 1-seeded Georgia with a spot in the semifinals on the line.
We’ve seen a few notable Georgia vs. Alabama games over the last three years. But ESPN projects a new one with Kalen DeBoer picking up where Nick Saban left off and taking on Georgia for a spot in the national championship game.
Ohio State makes the College Football Playoff semifinal in ESPN’s projections. However, the Buckeyes’ opponent differs with No. 6 seed Texas and No. 3 seed Miami making the cut – although the result is the same in both games.
Once again, ESPN’s analysts are in agreement on an Ohio State-Georgia national championship game. This time, though, the Bulldogs were the consensus No. 1 team after holding onto the top spot in the AP poll on Tuesday.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Local News
Comments / 0