No. 1 Oregon led the third College Football Playoff Rankings of the 2024 season and is in the driver’s seat for the national championship after becoming the first power conference team to clinch a slot in their conference championship game. No. 3 Texas and No. 8 Miami continued as the projected 2- and 3-seeds, while No. 12 Boise State jumped into the first-round bye group after BYU fell after a loss.
No. 14 BYU is still projected to make the field but falls to the 12-seed as the fifth conference champion to receive an at-large bid. The Cougars fell eight spots in the rankings after losing their first game of the season, a 17-13 loss against a surging Kansas team. Boise State remains by far the highest-ranked Group of Five team with undefeated Army sitting down at No. 19.
Outside of the top, Georgia moved back into the field and replaced Tennessee in the projected 12-team field as the Volunteers sit as the first team out. The Bulldogs beat the Volunteers 31-17 last week. Otherwise, the rest of the bracket remains largely unchanged from the previous week.
This bracket is a projection heading into Week 13. None of the byes will formally be earned until a team wins a conference championship. Here is a look at how the College Football Playoff bracket looks after the third CFP Rankings release.
Boise State in prime position
Heading into the season, the assumption was that the four power conference champions would get byes and and the highest-ranked Group of Five champion would settle for the 12-seed. Three weeks into the rankings, Boise State has already bucked the trend. The Broncos are projected to beat out whoever is the Big 12 champion for a first round bye and enter the field as the four-seed. In addition to playing one fewer game, Boise State would not have to travel to an opposing stadium if they made the CFP. Boise State still needs to win the Mountain West to make it happen, but the Broncos are in great shape. And even if the Big 12 manages to collect itself, Boise State will have at least a chance against the ACC if Miami loses anywhere.
Tennessee in trouble
There’s a logjam in the SEC’s upper class as six teams with two or fewer losses vie for a spot in the field. Some of them have clear paths. Texas A&M can potentially punch its ticket by beating No. 3 Texas in a major rivalry game. Georgia likely did so by beating No. 3 Texas and No. 11 Tennessee.
And then there’s the Vols. Tennessee has a serious win against No. 7 Alabama. They lost their other ranked game 31-17 against No. 10 Georgia. The rest of the resume is inconsistent with a loss to Arkansas, overtime game against Florida and games that finished with 10 points against Oklahoma and Kentucky.
If the season ended today, Tennessee would not be part of the 12-team College Football Playoff field. Making matters worse, the Volunteers have little wiggle room left to rise into the field. Really, the only way Tennessee could get in is if a team ahead — Notre Dame, Alabama or Ole Miss, perhaps — suffers an upset. Beating Alabama just isn’t a get out-of-jail-free card any more.
Bizarre grouping
It was assumed that BYU would drop significantly after losing its first game against Kansas, but the mechanics of it are head-scratching. The Cougars dropped eight full spots to No. 14, despite sitting at No. 8 in the strength of record ratings. Making things weirder, BYU dropped behind No. 13 SMU in the rankings — a team the Cougars beat on their home field.
Really though, both of those factors pale in comparison to Miami. The Hurricanes rank 21 spots behind BYU in strength of schedule, per SportsLine, and haven’t played a single ranked opponent after Louisville fell out. Despite those factors, Miami still ranks No. 8 despite being a one-loss team. It’s baffling to see the credit Miami gets. None of the data backs it up.
