Eight Bold Predictions For the 2024 College Football Playoffs - Blowouts Remain, Georgia Falls Flat, Texas Surges, and more

After a season of buildup and two weeks of rest, we have finally made it. The first-ever twelve-team College Football Playoff kicks off on Friday night as the Indiana Hoosiers travel across the state to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, followed by the three remaining first-round games on Saturday.

The field is stacked with powerhouses and underdogs, and entertainment value is at a peak going into the month-long event. Ever since fans started to realize how the format works, there have been discussions centered around just how fair the seeding is. That is all thrown out the window this week as teams set aside the political chatter and settle it on the field.

In eleven games, we will crown a national champion. Each game will add a layer to college football history with the nation watching closer than ever before. Let’s project the future but most importantly, let’s get bold.

National Championship Ends Up Two-Plus Score Game

The stage gets bigger each week in this format, and January 20th will be the climax. I predict this year’s national championship will be one of the least exciting games of the eleven CFP games.

The three strongest rosters in the bracket are all on the top: Oregon, Texas, and Ohio State. One of those teams will emerge as battle-tested, while the team coming from the bottom half will run through what are in my opinion, lower-caliber teams. I predict that the title game will not be a fun watch and that the team that emerges from the top of the bracket will win convincingly.

Buckeyes Knock Out Oregon In Rose Bowl

They came oh-so-close way back in October to taking down the undefeated Ducks in Eugene, but Ohio State could not get the job done and the rest was history. Now 13-0, Oregon is the lone undefeated team in the sport and the favorite to bring home a national title.

WILL HOWARD SLIDES AS TIME EXPIRES 😱

NO. 3 OREGON WINS A THRILLER OVER NO. 2 OHIO STATE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/q2FtdifqXq

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 13, 2024

As Lee Corso always says, not so fast. The hard-to-beat-a-team-twice narrative doesn't always come true, but these Ohio State Buckeyes are not an easy out. They have more NFL talent on paper than Oregon, and they should be coming into this game pissed off about what happened last time these two teams met.

Ohio State has to get by a fundamentally sound Tennessee team first to make this rematch happen, but assuming that they do, I like Ohio State to beat Oregon and flip the bracket upside down in an all-time classic.

Georgia One-And-Done Without Beck

One team that I did not mention as a top contender are the Georgia Bulldogs, who are just a year removed from back-to-back titles and just took down the aforementioned Texas Longhorns in the SEC title game. 

Carson Beck has been ruled out for the remainder of the SEC Championship after an injury he sustained in the first half. pic.twitter.com/zlfbt5hpCb

— ESPN (@espn) December 7, 2024

Quarterback Carson Beck appears to be dealing with a significant elbow injury suffered in the SEC Championship and it would be surprising to see him back under center for Georgia. While Beck was sometimes more of a hindrance than a plus to this Bulldogs team, he has much more experience and talent than backup Gunner Stockton.

Kirby Smart is more than capable of coaching with a lesser talent under center - just look at what he did with Stetson Bennett - but this Georgia team is not on the same level as those that came before them talent-wise. I predict a loss in their first game against the winner of Notre Dame/Indiana.

Penn State Does Not Make Semifinals

Some college football fans believe that Penn State got the best draw of any team, set to play SMU at home on Saturday followed by a matchup with Boise State if they were to win. The Nittany Lions are favored on Saturday and would be favored over the Broncos, setting up a very manageable path to the semifinals.

James Franklin falls to 3-18 vs Top 10 opponents. pic.twitter.com/5zTdfTumkl

— College Football Report (@CFBRep) November 2, 2024

But this is James Franklin we are talking about. Penn State’s head man is 1-18 all-time against top-five teams, with that number improving to 3-18 against top-10 opponents. Not that SMU or Boise is a top-five team at the moment, but Franklin has come up short time and time again when the stage gets bigger. These two teams were dominant, albeit against lesser competition, this season and now that they are in the field they’ll be playing with nothing to lose. The Nittany Lions, on the other hand, have everything to lose should they fall prior to the semis.

The playoff game in Happy Valley may be the hardest environment we see in Round 1, but it helps the Mustangs out that it’s a noon kickoff. Should Penn State escape, they’ll face a well-rested, gritty Boise State team. One of these hungry teams will take James Franklin’s squad down.

Notre Dame Makes National Championship For First Time Since 2012

If Georgia and Penn State are early exits, who does that leave standing in the bottom side of the bracket? None other than the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who everyone counted out after their early-season loss to Northern Illinois. 

The schedule has been admittedly underwhelming, but the Irish have been dominant since the early-season blunder. The rushing attack is firing on all cylinders with quarterback Riley Leonard and running back Jeremiyah Love, and Marcus Freeman has the leadership ability to take this team to places it has not gone in a long time.

Notre Dame is by no means a juggernaut this season and they may scrape by Indiana and Georgia, but after being hit early and feeling the effects of a devastating upset this team is primed to make a run through the CFP all the way to its first title game appearance since Manti Te’o’s 2012 team.

Three Overtime Games In CFP

Here’s a bold one: not one, not two, but three of the eleven games in the postseason go to overtime. We already saw the SEC title game go to extras - it just happens when teams are evenly matched and the stakes are high.

Not all teams in the field are created equal, but we are bound to see several close matchups over the next month. To pace towards the three thresholds, at least one of the first-round games needs to get to overtime. My most likely candidate is the inaugural game on Friday night as the Indiana Hoosiers travel north to South Bend, with Tennessee’s trip to Columbus not far behind.

Texas Wins First Title Since 2005

It has been 20 years since Vince Young’s Texas team hoisted the trophy, and only once since then have the Longhorns returned to the title game. The path is far from easy, as Texas starts with ACC champion Clemson followed by Big 12 champ Arizona State. If they make it through those two games, they would be up against Oregon, Ohio State, or Tennessee in the semis.

This team has already fallen twice at the hands of Georgia this season, and their most impressive win is probably an ugly 17-7 win at Kyle Field over 8-4 Texas A&M. Quarterback Quinn Ewers has been streaky, but I’m sticking with the motto “defense wins championships.” 

Texas has what it takes to slow Oregon down, can beat Ohio State in a power vs. power matchup, and would not allow Georgia to beat them a third time with Gunnar Stockton under center.

Between Steve Sarkisian’s playcalling, Ewers’ experience on the big stage, and the Longhorns’ stout defense, I think this is a championship-caliber roster.

Quintrevion Wisner Is CFP MVP

The injury bug bit Texas before the season even started, claiming promising young running back C.J. Baxter along with freshman Christian Clark. It took him a few weeks to establish himself, but sophomore Quintrevion Wisner emerged as the lead back and has been extremely impressive ever since.

Steve Sarkisian bragging on Quintrevion Wisner... "He might be the toughest guy on our team. He is cut from a brillo pad." #HookEm pic.twitter.com/03BuQBnOU7

— Darby Brown (@darbyjobrown) November 24, 2024

Wisner has rushed for 863 yards and three touchdowns on the season, largely entering the fold about a month in. In the biggest win of the year over Texas A&M, he touted the ball 33 times for 186 yards. Steve Sarkisian will lean on his workhorse throughout the playoffs behind one of the best offensive lines in football. I like Wisner to put up impressive stats throughout the next month en route to the Longhorns’ first title since 2005, landing him the CFP MVP.

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