The 12-team playoff was a huge success last year as Ohio State went on an epic run to win the National Title. The first-round games were played at the higher seed's home place and created an exciting matchup. The one criticism was how they seeded the top 4 teams. The top four seeds were awarded to the top four conference winners. So, Boise State was the 3rd seed as the Group of 5 representatives in the Mountain West, and Arizona State was the 4th seed as the Big 12 representative. They changed it this off-season, and now the top 4 teams with byes are just picked by the committee, and they no longer must pick the top 4 conference winners. Below are my predictions about who should be in the playoffs at this point in the season.
1st 4 seeds get byes:
1st Seed Ohio State (Big Ten Champion)- Ohio State looks like the favorite to win the National Championship again. They have one of the best defenses in College Football, and the offense is improving each week. They will be in the mix the entire rest of the way, and the schedule is manageable going forward.
2nd Seed Alabama (SEC Champion)- I think the 2nd seed will most likely be the SEC Conference champion. At this point, I must give the nod to Alabama because of how well they are playing. Alabama had back-to-back impressive performances, 1st against Georgia and then this week against Vanderbilt.
3rd Seed Miami (ACC Champion)- Miami has so far beaten Notre Dame, Florida, USF, and Florida State. They have a legitimate claim to the top spot in the rankings, and they are the clear favorites in the ACC.
4th Seed Oregon- Oregon is a legitimate playoff team. They and Ohio State could be on a collision course to meet in the Big Ten Championship, which would be an amazing game. Oregon is a talented team and has the players and coaching staff to make a College Football Playoff.
5th Seed Ole Miss vs. 12th Seed Memphis
5th Seed Ole Miss- Ole Miss looks like a good team this season after getting a nice win against LSU last week. Ole Miss has a chance to make a run in the SEC and make the College Football Playoff.
12th Seed Memphis- The group of 4 representatives is wide open, but I gave it to Memphis because they are the highest-ranked of the group of 4 teams.
6th Seed Texas A&M vs. 11th Seed Notre Dame
6th Seed Texas A&M- Texas A&M has a long history of struggling to achieve any sort of success, but they look like a talented team this season, which has a good chance at making a run in the SEC Conference. They are a talented team that has the tools to make a College Football Playoff run.
11th Seed Notre Dame- Notre Dame gets the last spot in the 12-team playoff over Tennessee and LSU. I think both those teams will lose at least 1 more game and possibly more.
7th Seed Texas Tech (Big 12 Champion) vs. 10th Seed Oklahoma
7th Seed Texas Tech- Texas Tech looks like the best team in the Big 12. The Big 12 champion should be ranked in this territory, and I expect Texas Tech as the team with the best chance to win the conference.
10th Oklahoma- Oklahoma is a much-improved team this season but now must play several games without their best player and Quarterback John Mateer. If they can survive without him, they should still be able to make the College Football Playoff.
8th Seed Georgia vs. 9th Seed Indiana
8th Seed Georgia- Georgia had a tough loss to Alabama, but still looks like they have a good chance to make the playoffs again this season.
9th Seed Indiana- Indiana looks like a good team in the Big Ten, but I think they probably lose to Oregon. I am not sure they will lose another game, so they end up as the 9th seed in the playoffs.
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