ESPN sent social media into a frenzy with their updated projections for the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket.
This season, the NCAA will debut its brand new postseason format for the national championship. After running a four-team format from 2014 to 2023, the NCAA introduced a dozen-team College Football Playoff bracket.
On Tuesday, the Worldwide Leader in Sports offered their updated 12-team CFP bracket predictions. The top four teams get first-round byes to the quarterfinals, which would be Oregon, Texas, Miami and Boise State in this exercise.
For the first round, ESPN projects No. 5 Ohio State facing No. 12 Arizona State, No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 11 Indiana, No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 10 SMU and No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 9 Tennessee.
As you would guess, ESPN’s College Football Playoff bracket projection led to plenty of disagreements and fascinating takes from fans.
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“I thought Oklahoma beat Alabama? How is Oklahoma not in the playoffs????,” one fan asked.
“ASU getting in at 16 is crazy to say,” said another.
“Bama not being in it feels weird.. (Not saying we deserve to be in though),” a Crimson Tide supporter added.
“If we’re doing best 12 in the country, half of these teams need to be gone,” another rebuked.
“Big 12 are frauds,” another fan opined.
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“This rigged bracket. Number 1 should be at the top, then 4, then 2 and 3. Yall just want OSU to go to the Semi Finals. Lol,” a fan stated.
“Who has Notre dame beat, who has Penn state beat answer no one,” questioned another.
“It literally makes no sense for either USC or Clemson to not be in your predicted top 12. If Carolina beats number 12 Clemson, they should be in. If Clemson beats number 15 USC, they will be higher than 12,” wrote a user.
The Michigan Wolverines (6-5) are the defending champions, but they’re sure to miss out on the postseason in year one of the post-Jim Harbaugh era. The 4-4 Washington Huskies, last year’s runner-ups, will also miss the big dance.
The Alabama Crimson Tide are always a fixture in the College Football Playoff bracket, but it looks like year one of the Kalen DeBoer era will end without a postseason appearance. The Crimson Tide have one last chance to convince the committee otherwise when they host Auburn on Saturday.
Lots Can Still Change In The College Football Playoff Bracket
There’s still a lot that can change in the final 12-team bracket in the quest to the 2024 national championship. Remember, controversy erupted when Florida State Seminoles were left out of the four-team postseason last year.
Clemson is ranked No. 12 in the nation, and a victory over No. 15 ranked South Carolina would assure their spot in the postseason. Alabama, Arizona State, and Ole Miss need to win and get some help if they’re to sneak in.
The bottom line: It’s going to be a wonderful weekend of college football as the 12-team postseason race intensifies.
