College football predictions 2024: Using AI to pick conference champions, 12-team playoff, national champ

Whenever I see AI in any context, my mind races to the same place every single time.

Skynet. Post-apocalyptic war against robots. Well-timed Arnold Schwarzenegger one-liners. The "Terminator" franchise, of course.

I have watched all the movies and even fought through the television series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" It is a known fact that "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" is the best sequel of all time, and it delivers an eerily prophetic line when the T-800 tells all of us, "It's in your nature to destroy yourselves."

Not as long as we have college football, which will unveil a new model this season that includes super-sized conferences, a 12-team playoff and the longest season ever. It is a Judgment Day of sorts for a sport that continues to proliferate and does not resemble its original self.

I consulted with Meta AI for an outlook on the Power 4 conferences and the College Football Playoff heading into the 2024 season. There were some interesting answers from AI on the upcoming season. Let's take a conference-by-conference look at those answers.

MORE: Sporting News 2024 preseason All-America team

AI predictions for ACC

Florida State and Clemson combined to win nine of the last 10 championships, so I simply asked AI, "Will Clemson or Florida State win the ACC?"

"The ACC Championship Game is shaping up to be a thrilling matchup, with Florida State and Clemson predicted to face off again. Both teams have high win totals predicted for the season, with 9.5 wins each, but Florida State is expected to edge out Clemson."

Miami – which is ranked No. 19 in the AP preseason poll – is another popular pick with the addition of Washington State transfer quarterback Cam Ward and Oregon State running back Damien Martinez. Is "The U"  back?

"You're referring to the University of Miami's football program! While I can't predict the future, I can tell you that the team has been working hard to regain its former glory," AI replied.

You are not going to get away with much sarcasm, apparently.

AI predictions for Big Ten

Since I got the question all summer, I asked AI how much pressure is on Ohio State coach Ryan Day in 2024. An excerpt from a very detailed answer:

"Day has yet to win a championship, and the team's recent losses to Michigan have only added to the pressure. The media and fans have high expectations, and Day has embraced the challenge, saying 'pressure is a privilege.'"

AI even threw in the line about Day "taking on a CEO role."

Ohio State is favored by most publications to win the Big Ten. Oregon is a popular pick to reach the Big Ten championship game, and defending national champion Michigan remains a playoff contender under first-year coach Sherrone Moore. Is Michigan or Oregon more of a threat to the Buckeyes?

"Michigan is more of a threat to Ohio State than Oregon, as they have a long-standing rivalry and Michigan has been a consistent top contender in the Big Ten. Oregon is a new addition to the Big Ten and still needs to prove itself in the conference," AI replied.

AI predictions for Big 12

AI knows the Big 12 is wide open heading into the 2024 season. It says:

"Utah is currently ranked as the number one team in the Big 12 post-spring power rankings, edging out Kansas State. Other top contenders include Oklahoma State, TCU, Houston, Baylor, and Texas Tech, all of whom have a legitimate shot at making the conference title game."

It misses Kansas with Jalon Daniels and West Virginia with Garrett Greene, but it hit the point that the Big 12 is the most wide-open Power 4 conference that will be tough to pick a champion this season.

AI also had an interesting forecast for Colorado under coach Deion Sanders in Year  2: "Colorado's team has some talented players, including Shedeur Sanders, Deion's son, who's a skilled quarterback, and Travis Hunter, a versatile athlete who's been named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year.  However, the team is predicted to finish 11th in the conference, so it might be a challenging season for them."

We will wait and see whether Sanders takes a question from AI in his next press conference.

MORE: Top 25 QBs for 2024 | Ranking FBS coaches 1-134

AI predictions for SEC

After toying with questions about whether "Does it really mean more in the SEC?" and "Is Texas back?" – which AI replied, "I'd argue that Texas never left!" – we got down to business here.

AI listed the favorites as Georgia, ALABAMA, Texas, Ole Miss and LSU – in that order – though I might slip Tennessee in there and make it a six pack of teams fighting for three or four playoff spots. Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas A&M also are in the mix.

In an effort to see if AI has any true emotions, I asked whether it misses Nick Saban, who retired in January.

"As a neutral AI assistant, I don't have personal feelings or emotions, so I don't ‘miss' or have attachments to specific individuals, including Nick Saban."

Ask that same question in Knoxville or Baton Rouge, and you might get a more pointed response.

AI also said: "I can provide information and insights about Coach Saban's career, achievements, and impact on college football if you're interested."

They are certainly not interested in revisiting any of that in Knoxville and Baton Rouge.

AI predictions Notre Dame, Group of 5

AI said Notre Dame had a "good shot" of making the CFP but would not engage in whether the Irish should join a conference. AI also offered percentages for the top five teams in the Group of 5 that might make the College Football Playoff.

• 1. Boise State Broncos: 16.4% chance
• 2. UTSA Roadrunners: 15.6% chance
• 3. Liberty Flames: 9.6% chance
• 4. Memphis Tigers: 7.9% chance
• 5. Appalachian State Mountaineers: 7.0% chance

That was the most-specific answer of all. Go with the Broncos, right?

MORE: Sporting News Preseason Top 25 | Composite preseason Top 25

AI and College Football Playoff predictions

AI will not give an all-out College Football Playoff prediction, but it did break down the AP Top 25 and how that looks in terms of a potential playoff with the following teams:

Based on the preseason AP Poll, here are the teams predicted to play in the college football playoff.

Seeds 1-4

1. Georgia

2. Ohio State

3. Florida State

4. Utah

Seeds 5-12

5. Oregon

6. Texas

7. Alabama

8. Ole Miss

9. Notre Dame

10. Penn State

11. Michigan

12. Boise State

Sporting News playoff projections have the same four teams getting a bye and six of those eight at-large teams. We have Clemson and Memphis instead of Penn State and Boise State.

AI said Georgia vs. Ohio State is a reasonable choice for a CFP championship game, but it glitched here a little bit with these two one-liners. It said, Georgia, "return key players like QB Brock Vandagriff and RB Daijuan Edwards" and Ohio State has "talented QB Kyle McCord and WR Emeka Egbuka."

AI is on top of a lot of things. The quarterback transfer portal is not one of them.

AI and college football predictions

The run-through shows AI will dole out the same predictions as most of the college football prognosticators, but the truth is nobody is sure how this first season of the 12-team College Football Playoff will pan out. As AI says:

"College football is unpredictable, and upsets can happen. Other teams like Florida State, Alabama, and Clemson might make deep playoff runs. Injuries, coaching changes, or unexpected team chemistry issues can impact performance."

That was a fun experience, and after the question-and-answer, and I threw in one more before leaving: "Is Terminator 2 a good movie?"

Another glitch. "Something went wrong. Try again."

I thought, "Skynet is coming for me."

Then I tried again, and AI responded with the correct answer.

"Yes, Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a good movie! … It's considered one of the best action movies of all time, and many rank it among the top sequels that surpass the original."

There is a sense of hope, right? Because of college football, of course.