Predicting the Final College Football Playoff Bracket: Who's In, Including Colorado and the SEC Contenders

Let’s get right to the point.

You’re busy, I’m busy; we all have things to do, gifts to purchase for people we kind of like, and naps to take. You don’t have time to deal with all the speculation about who will make the expanded College Football Playoffs.

Who will be in the final College Football Playoff bracket?

While it may be tempting to speculate on what the bracket would look like if the season stopped right now, that is only for fun. The plan is to play it out and determine what the ultimate rankings and bracket will be once the conference championships are completed.

So, what will the twelve seeds be? I got you.

(Keep in mind that this will be revised next week if something weird happens. Also, keep in mind that these are not the final rankings. These are the anticipated College Football Playoff seedings.

Projected College Football Playoff Seeds

1. Ohio State

This is easy. The Buckeyes will defeat Indiana and Michigan, win the rematch with Oregon, and secure the top seed.

2. Alabama

This is hard. terribly, terribly hard.

Assume the SEC champion is here regardless. So, if you want to include any of the six possibilities, go for it.

The main prediction here is that Texas A&M defeats Texas. Without delving too further into the tie-breakers, assuming Alabama advances to the SEC Championship game based on the common opponent winning percentage should suffice.

After all of the tie-breaking effort, Alabama defeats A&M for the SEC Championship.

3. Colorado

Or whatever the huge 12 champion is – and that’s only because a huge decision has been made about how the ACC will play out. More on that in a moment.

Colorado’s win over Kansas this week is far from guaranteed, but we’ll go with it. It will also beat Oklahoma State, advance to the Big 12 championship game, and defeat the winner of the BYU-Arizona State game this week. (By the way, don’t dismiss the possibility of the Sun Devils being here.)

4. Boise State

Boise State will beat Wyoming and Oregon State before defeating Colorado State in the Mountain West final. With only one loss, a close battle with Oregon, expect it to be among the top four seeds over the Big 12 and/or ACC champs.

5. Oregon

Even if Ohio State loses a close game to Oregon again, the Big Ten Championship loser will likely wind up here.

The fifth seed will play…

12. Clemson

Okay, so let’s get this major call out of the way. Syracuse wins at home over Miami.

If that happens, Clemson advances to the ACC Championship and defeats SMU, but a loss to South Carolina leaves it as the only three-loss team in the top 12. It will be the highest-ranked fifth conference champion, but Tulane will keep it tight.

The 5-12 winner will face the 4 on the same side of the bracket as the 8-9 winner and the 1.

8. Indiana

Despite a loss to Ohio State, the Hoosiers’ 11-1 record puts them marginally ahead of…

9. Ole Miss

You can flip this with Indiana if you like. The Rebels go to Bloomington, while the Hoosiers travel to Oxford. Ole Miss will fight its way past Florida, blow away Mississippi State, and receive a solid seed among the available SEC teams thanks to an 18-point win over Georgia and a 27-3 win over South Carolina.

Begin with 6 vs 11 on the other side of the bracket.

6. Penn State

The committee has long liked the Nittany Lions. The only loss came in a good fight at Ohio State. Even if there aren’t any spectacular victories, getting over Minnesota and Maryland in a close game, combined with respectable wins over Illinois, Wisconsin, USC, and Washington, will be enough to put them behind the Big Ten Championship loser at 11-1.

Penn State will host…

11. Texas A&M

This brings us back to the other major call, which is how the ACC will shake out. Texas A&M defeated Texas. Texas, who will have no spectacular wins despite the SEC schedule, will be eliminated, while A&M will enter after losing the SEC Championship and will play on the road in the first round.

The 6-11 winner will face the 3 on the same bracket as the 7-10 winner, therefore…

7. Notre Dame

The Irish will beat Army and look strong against a tough USC, but the Northern Illinois defeat will be enough to keep them out of the 5 or 6 seed.

Congratulations, Notre Dame. You have a home game against…

10. Georgia

The Dawgs will be relieved not to play in the SEC Championship, as they will have three weeks to relax and prepare for a run without having to play an extra game. They’ll get a boost from Georgia Tech, and they’ll win after strolling through UMass.

So to make things easier…