Who will play who in the College Football Playoff? How is the CFP going to work?
After a shakeout on Saturday in which Texas and Alabama lost and others, like Michigan, bailed out, there are not many clear choices left.
This is the last list of College Football Playoff numbers for now. The first set will come out in two weeks. As we move into Week 9, here’s what we think the CFP will be.
College Football Playoff Predictions: Week 9
The high seeds’ home fields are where the first round games are played.
It is not important to the committee that there are rematches. In the end, it makes the rankings, and the games are based on those scores.
The new CFP might want to get things off to a great start. Even though our call of Texas at Texas A&M is a repeat of the last game of the regular season, it will get a lot of viewers on Friday night.
Taking into account the time difference, our guess that Boise State would win at 11 of the clock beat our prediction that Washington State would win at 12 o’clock. The first game of a Smorgasbord Saturday of football is against 6 seed Penn State.
The game between Notre Dame and Tennessee at 4 ET in the afternoon would be great, but it has to air at night because of Tennessee. Washington State at Oregon is the calm before the storm.
College Football Playoff First Round
Friday, December 20
8:00, ABC/ESPN
Home site of higher seed
Bowl Projection: 9 Texas at 8 Texas A&M
College Football Playoff First Round
Saturday, December 21
12:00, TNT
Home site of higher seed
Bowl Projection: 11 Boise State at 6 Penn State
College Football Playoff First Round
Saturday, December 21
4:00, TNT
Home site of higher seed
Bowl Projection: 12 Washington State at 5 Oregon
College Football Playoff First Round
Saturday, December 21
8:00, ABC/ESPN
Home site of higher seed
Bowl Projection: 10 Tennessee at 7 Notre Dame
In the first round, we think all the teams will win except for Texas, which we think will beat Texas A&M once more.
It is expected that Iowa State, the 4 seed, will play the 12-5 winner. Iowa State will finish lower in the final rankings, but the top four conference champions get to play. It makes the most sense to grab the Fiesta Bowl.
To set up a huge Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in the afternoon on New Year’s Day, Penn State beats Boise State. This sets up a huge Rose Bowl when Texas beats Ohio State.
College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
Tuesday, December 31
7:30, ESPN
State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
Last Season: Oregon 45, Liberty 6
Bowl Projection: 4 Iowa State vs 5 Oregon
College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Wednesday, January 1, 2025
1:00, ESPN
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
Last Season: Ole Miss 38, Penn State 25
Bowl Projection: 3 Clemson vs 6 Penn State
College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Rose Bowl
Wednesday, January 1, 2025
5:00, ESPN
Rose Bowl, Pasadena, CA
Last Season: Michigan 27, Alabama 20 OT
Bowl Projection: 1 Ohio State vs 9 Texas
College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Allstate Sugar Bowl
Wednesday, January 1, 2025
8:45, ESPN
Caesars Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Last Season: Washington 37, Texas 31
Bowl Projection: 2 Georgia vs 7 Notre Dame
This is what the College Football Playoff committee will not want: two games that are played again in the playoffs.
They beat Clemson badly to start the season, and now they had to do it again. Also, people will not stop complaining when Oregon and Ohio State play for a third dime.
College Football Playoff Semifinal Capital One Orange Bowl
Thursday, January 9, 2025
7:30, ESPN
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL
Last Season: Georgia 63, Florida State 3
Bowl Projection: 2 Georgia vs 3 Clemson
College Football Playoff Semifinal Goodyear Cotton Bowl
Friday, January 10, 2025
7:30, ESPN
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
Last Season: Missouri 14, Ohio State 3
Bowl Projection: 1 Ohio State vs 5 Oregon
We called in the middle of January, and nothing has changed since then. The two best teams in college football finally get together to play for the championship after all the trouble. Not the date that is really, really late.
College Football Playoff National Championship
Monday, January 20, 2025
7:30, ESPN
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
Last Season: Michigan 34, Washington 13
Bowl Projection: 1 Ohio State vs 2 Georgia
