Who would’ve thought that, after week zero, we would already have a major development in our 12-team playoff prediction? Only a handful of games happened on Saturday, and only one had the potential to change the playoff picture. But that’s, indeed, what happened.
Florida State played Georgia Tech in Ireland on Saturday. From the kickoff, it was a battle between the two ACC opponents. The Yellow Jackets finish the game with a six-minute drive and a walk-off field goal to win. If the first game of the 20 24–25 season indicates how the rest of the year plays out, college football fans are in for a good time.
After week zero, here’s how our 12-team playoffs:
2024 Week zero 12-team CFP prediction
Rank | Team | Why are they here | Previous rank |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ohio State | Big 10 Champion | 1 |
2 | Georgia | SEC Champion | 2 |
3 | Utah | Big 12 Champion | 4 |
4 | Clemson | ACC Champion | 10 |
5 | Texas | At-large | 5 |
6 | Penn St | At-large | 6 |
7 | Oregon | At-large | 7 |
8 | Ole Miss | At-large | 8 |
9 | Notre Dame | At-large | 9 |
10 | Oklahoma State | At-large | 12 |
11 | UNLV | MW champion | 11 |
12 | Missouri | At-large | N/A |
After the loss to Georgia Tech, FSU drops out of the playoffs completely. The ACC is arguably the least talented — from top to bottom — Power Four conference. Losing to one of the lower projected teams will do a whole lot of damage. That also means there's a new projected ACC champion, with Clemson taking the crown.
For the most part, everything else is the same. But you’ll notice that one team is making its first appearance in the prediction. Missouri is the next team up after FSU dropped out. The Tigers lost a lot on defense, but their offense should be deadly this season. They also have one of the easiest schedules in the SEC, with their toughest games being Oklahoma and Alabama. Oklahoma State also moves up to the tenth seed.
Some important games to watch this week would be No. 14 Clemson-No. 1 Georgia, No. 19 Miami-Florida, and No. 7 Notre Dame-No. 20 Texas A&M on Saturday. And on Sunday, No. 23 USC will play No. 13 LSU. Anyone of them could change next week's playoff picture.