here is a look at Brett McMurphy’s College Football Playoff and bowl projections for 2024:
No. 1 Seed: Oregon Ducks
McMurphy has the Oregon Ducks earning the first overall seed in the College Football Playoff for the 2024 season. If they do so, it would be Oregon’s second time making it to the College Football Playoff. In the process, the Ducks would earn a first-round bye for the Playoff and be able to sit back and wait to see who their first opponent is going to be.
This comes in a season of transition for the Oregon program. The Ducks are going to be in their first season in the Big Ten after moving over from the Pac-12. So, it’s going to be a new-look schedule and a lot of travel to manage to get to this point.
No. 2 Seed: Alabama Crimson Tide
There is a lot of debate about Alabama moving forward. After all, with legendary head coach Nick Saban retiring and being replaced by Kalen DeBoer, the Crimson Tide have questions to answer. Those are questions that McMurphy, clearly, expects them to have answers for.
It’s not going to be easy to earn the second overall seed. To do so, it will likely take winning the SEC in a conference that expects to be tightly contested at the top. Still, Alabama does have the talent on paper to be able to do so.
No. 3 Seed: Miami Hurricanes
It’s been a challenging first couple of seasons for Miami under head coach Mario Cristobal. He has just a 12-13 record there and has found that the rebuild is taking longer than many outside of the program expected. Still, once again in 2024, expectations are high for the Hurricanes and McMurphy expects them to earn a bye in the College Football Playoff.
A big reason why so much is expected of Miami is how Cristobal was able to use the Transfer Portal. In particular, quarterback Cam Ward is expected to have a massive impact on the team this season. If he can, competing in the ACC and making the Playoff is a definite possibility.
No. 4 Seed: Utah Utes
Another team going through a transition that McMurphy is high on going into 2024 is Utah. The Utes, like the Ducks, are changing conferences. In Utah’s case, they’re leaving the Pac-12 to join the Big 12 for the 2024 season. It’s a conference Utah is expected to do well in.
Much of Utah’s success is going to go back to the health of quarterback Cam Rising. He had injury issues that sidelined him in 2023 and became a major issue for Utah’s offense. Having him back and at full strength is massive as it goes to making the College Football Playoff.
First round matchup: No. 12 Texas State at No. 5 Ohio State
The Group of Five is guaranteed at least one team in the College Football Playoff. That team will likely always end up with the 12 seed and, in this case, McMurphy is giving that spot to Texas State. The Bobcats are expected to have a good year but still are a bit of a darkhorse to earn that slot.
One team that isn’t a darkhorse is Ohio State. Many people are predicting the Buckeyes earn a bye in the Playoff. However, that’s not the case for McMurphy, who clearly has the Ducks winning the Big Ten over them to earn that spot instead. Still, Ohio State appears to be Playoff bound.
First round matchup: No. 11 Iowa at No. 6 Georgia
The Iowa Hawkeyes have been an interesting team in recent seasons. On defense and special teams, they’ve been among the best in the country. On offense, it’s fair to say they’ve struggled. Now, with a change at offensive coordinator, it will be interesting to see if they can make noise in the postseason.
Meanwhile, Georgia is considered one of the best all around teams in the country coming into this season. Even with a very difficult schedule, the Bulldogs are expecting to be one of the best teams in the country and make the College Football Playoff.
First round matchup: No. 10 Virginia Tech at No. 7 Ole Miss
One team that’s been a popular pick to catch people by surprise is Virginia Tech. The Hokies have shown growth in recent seasons and now seem poised to take a leap forward. Certainly, McMurphy is high on Virginia Tech, putting the Hokies in the Playoff.
A popular College Football Playoff pick has been Ole Miss. After adding extensively through the Transfer Portal, Ole Miss has a talented roster and seems poised to compete in the SEC. The question comes down to where they fall in a talented conference.
First round matchup: No. 9 Penn State at No. 8 LSU
In the end, McMurphy gave eight of his 12 College Football Playoff slots to teams from either the Big Ten or SEC. That includes Penn State and LSU, both of whom enter the season with expectations that they’ll at least compete for a Playoff slot.
For the Nittany Lions, they have a proven running game and defense. However, they’ll need to overcome assistant coach turnover and some questions about the consistency of the quarterback position. Meanwhile, LSU has a new quarterback and some questions to answer on the defensive side of the ball. However, both teams are clearly talented.
