Clemson Football: How this year’s CFP Bracket would look under next year’s 12-team format

Clemson Football was ranked at No. 22 in the College Football Playoff final ranking, so even if the 12-team playoff existed this year, they would not be participating.

Much of the controversy of the CFP committee’s decision to exclude undefeated Florida State would not exist if the 12-team bracket existed in 2023.

This is what the 12-team playoff would look like if it were utilized this season. The top four must be conference champions, so they would match this season’s top four.

First-Round Games: The highest-ranked team hosts the game in their stadium or an alternate stadium of their choosing.

• #12 Liberty at #5 Florida State
• #11 Ole Miss at #6 Georgia
• #10 Penn State at #7 Ohio State
• #9 Missouri at #8 Oregon

The rule for conference champions is that the six highest-rated must be included. The fifth conference champion is Florida State. The sixth conference champion would be Liberty, who is ranked 23rd. However…

Yahoo’s Ross Dellinger has expressed that the CFP Management Committee (the 10 FBS conference commissioners and Notre Dame) have recommended that the CFP adjust the system to only give the top five conference champions automatic bids. This is in response to the collapse of the PAC-12.

Since the PAC-12 did exist this season, and Washington won the championship, I think this season’s 12-team format is more representative of the way things will work if we include six conference champions, which puts Liberty in the playoff over No. 12 ranked Oklahoma.

What stands out for me in the first round is:

• Georgia with the opportunity to prove themselves against another member of the SEC West. The narrative right now is that the Bulldog’s schedule wasn’t challenging enough this season playing mostly SEC East teams.
• The unfortunate thing here would be the rematch of Ohio State against Penn State, but that’s the way the rankings broke.
• Could Liberty pull off the upset of FSU without Jordan Travis?

The winners of these games play the Top 4 in the quarterfinals.

• Peach Bowl: Winner of Missouri/Oregon vs #1 Michigan
• Fiesta Bowl: Winner of Penn State/Ohio State vs #2 Washington
• Cotton Bowl: Winner of Ole Miss/Georgia vs #3 Texas
• Orange Bowl: Winner of Liberty/Florida State vs #4 Alabama

These locations are guesses based on the way the committee typically places teams based on proximity to the bowl sites.

The semifinals are in the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl. I presume the winners of the Peach and Orange would play in the Sugar Bowl because New Orleans is the closest option to Ann Arbor. The winners of the Fiesta Bowl and Cotton Bowl would play in the Rose Bowl.

The national championship will be held this year in Houston, Texas.