Week seven's College Football Playoff prediction hasn't changed much since last week, but there are a few new teams to discuss.
Two teams have dropped out of the college football playoff prediction. Alabama is the first to go after barely winning against South Carolina. The Gamecocks were on their final drive with seconds left when their quarterback, LaNorris Sellers, threw a pick deep in Alabama territory, down by only two points.
The Tide should have back-to-back losses for the first time and who knows how long. This is not the Alabama that Nick Saban fostered for the last decade or so, but I gave it the benefit of the doubt after dropping a game to Vanderbilt. It looks like that was the wrong decision.
Utah also drops out after losing its second straight game to a former PAC 12 team. Cam Rising can't stay healthy, and the Utes aren't the same team without him. We had them as the Big 12 champion until last week, but with Iowa State and BYU heading into week eight undefeated, that seems very unlikely now.
Replacing Alabama and Utah are two teams that weren't being talked about before the season, including one that's kind of mind-blowing.
2024 week seven 12-team CFP prediction
Rank | Team | Why are they here | Previous rank |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Texas | SEC Champion | 2 |
2 | Ohio State | Big 10 Champion | 1 |
3 | Miami | ACC Champion | 3 |
4 | Iowa St | Big 12 Champion | 4 |
5 | Penn St | At-large | 5 |
6 | Clemson | At-large | 6 |
7 | Oregon | At-large | 7 |
8 | Georgia | At-large | 8 |
9 | Texas A&M | At-large | 9 |
10 | Boise St | MW Champion | 12 |
11 | BYU | At-large | Not Ranked |
12 | Navy | MW Champion | Not Ranked |
Navy and Army are 6-0 and ranked in the top 25 for the first time since the '60s. And of the two, Navy has the best chance to make it. They have the better offense and have almost no one left on their schedule to stop them from going into its game with Army undefeated.
Notre Dame is on Navy's schedule and should be a top 15 when they face off, but the Irish have already lost to Northern Illinois. A win against Notre Dame could catapult the Midshipmen into the top 10.
BYU is also 6-0, with almost no one in its way. If the Cougars make the Big 12 championship undefeated against an undefeated Iowa State team, it would be nearly impossible for BYU to miss the playoffs.
Clemson is back in the AP top 10 with no team ahead of them in their schedule that they should lose to. The Big 10 has three teams in the top 5 and will likely cannibalize themselves, leaving room for Clemson to clinch a home playoff game. Oregon just beat Ohio State on Saturday, so they're already starting to beat themselves up.