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3 surprise teams that could make the College Football Playoff in 2024

By Frank Sciarroni

Running back Ollie Gordon II #0 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys celebrates a 20-yard touchdown run against the Oklahoma Sooners in the first quarter of Bedlam at Boone Pickens Stadium on November 4, 2023 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Oklahoma State won 27-24.
Running back Ollie Gordon II #0 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys celebrates a 20-yard touchdown run against the Oklahoma Sooners in the first quarter of Bedlam at Boone Pickens Stadium on November 4, 2023 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Oklahoma State won 27-24. / Brian Bahr/GettyImages
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This upcoming college football season we will see a big change with the implementation of the 12-team playoff.

Under this formula the five highest-ranking conference champions receive an automatic berth, with the top four receiving a first-round bye. This means the highest ranked Group of Five conference winner will receive a spot. The remaining spots will be filled by the next seven highest-ranked teams.

With this should come a lot of new and possibly unexpected faces into the playoff as only 15 different teams ever made an appearance in the four-team format.

Here are my predictions of which teams could exceed expectations and find their way into the playoff.

1. Oklahoma State

(+900 (FanDuel) -- 34th best odds)

Oklahoma State is a team I believe could make some noise in a Big 12 conference that is wide open following the departures of Oklahoma and Texas.

The Cowboys far exceeded expectations last season winning 10 games and making it to the conference championship. Much of this success was due to the play of running back Ollie Gordon who led the FBS in rushing yards and accounted for 22 touchdowns. Gordon is back this year and I expect him to shine once again behind an offensive line that is all returning starters.

Aside from Gordon, the Cowboys have 19 other starters returning including quarterback Alan Bowman who is entering his seventh season of college football. Bowman was not spectacular last year, but he brings a ton of experience and does not have to be great when a guy like Gordon is next to him in the backfield.

Leading all this is head coach Mike Gundy who has been a model of consistency in college football only having one losing season in his 19 years as the head coach of the Pokes. With all the returning production and the state of the Big 12, I am baffled on why expectations are so low for Oklahoma State and believe they could find themselves in the playoff come December.

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