The 2024 college football regular season still has four weeks remaining, but there are a few teams that would have to have massive meltdowns to not be in the College Football Playoff at this point.
The initial College Football Playoff Rankings will be revealed on Tuesday evening, and there are many questions that fans have about their favorite teams and what the breakdown of the top-12 might look like.
Though we'll be watching each Saturday with anticipation through the rest of the month of November, there are three teams that have essentially already punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff.
Oregon is undefeated and the unquestioned No. 1 team in the nation in terms of rankings right now. In the AP Poll, the Ducks have received all 62 votes for the top spot in the country, and there's no reason to believe that the Ducks
Led by Heisman contender Dillon Gabriel, Oregon has consistently taken care of business with a perfect 9-0 record and they've got a favorable schedule heading into their last three games of the season.
Oregon will close out the 2024 season with Maryland, @ Wisconsin, and against Washington, all of which they'll be heavily favored. And, honestly, it doesn't even matter. If the Ducks drop one of those, they're still likely to get to the Big Ten Championship game and have a chance at that automatic qualfier.
Even if they somehow dropped one and — by a longshot — missed out on trip to Indianapolis, they'd still likely need to lose two before they dropped out of At-large contention.
Barring something catastrophic happening, Oregon is in the College Football Playoff. November is just trivial at this point for the Ducks.
While Miami is ranked lower than Oregon — No. 4 in the nation according to the AP Poll — the Hurricanes are also on the "it would take something catastrophic to miss the playoff" track.
Led by Cam Ward — who many believe is the favorite to win the Heisman — Miami now has a clear path to the ACC Championship game with Clemson being blown out by Louisville this past weekend. The Hurricanes only need to win two of their last three to clinch a spot in Charlotte, and then they'll likely have a date with SMU for the ACC's automatic qualifier.
Miami will play Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and Syracuse, and even if the Hurricanes were to lose one of those, they'd still be in Charlotte, and as long as they take care of business against three teams that they should clearly beat, they don't even need to win the ACC Championship to get to the College Football Playoff.
Ohio State's big win against Penn State this weekend solidified one thing: The Buckeyes would have to have an absolute meltdown to miss out on the College Football Playoff.
A 10-2 Ohio State is going to be in the postseason, regardless of when or how the loss occurs. Ohio State still has four games remaining — vs. Purdue, @ Northwestern, vs. Indiana, and vs. Michigan — but that road is clear and straight to the playoffs.
Even if Ohio State drops a game to Indiana, the Buckeyes will be in with a 10-2 record, especially considering they have that win over Penn State on the road bolstering their resume.
As long as they don't drop one to a lesser opponent — Purdue, Northwestern, or Michigan — that game against Indiana means next to nothing in terms of their playoff hopes.
That game will, however, have a lot to say about their playoff position. If Ohio State wins, they likely get a chance to win the Big Ten Championship and secure a bye through the first-round. If the Buckeyes lose, though, they could be staring down a seed somewhere between No. 9-No. 12, meaning they'd have to travel on the road for a first-round matchup.
At this point in time, though, there's no reason to believe Ohio State won't be in the playoff.