Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, Arizona State top CFP field play

ESPN ^ | Dec 8, 2024 | Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer

[Steven Scharf]

Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, Arizona State top CFP field play

Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer Dec 8, 2024, 12:36 PM ET

Undefeated Oregon earned the No. 1 overall seed in the first 12-team College Football Playoff field announced Sunday, while SMU -- despite a loss in the ACC championship game -- nudged out Alabama to earn the final spot.

No. 2 seed Georgia (11-2), No. 3 seed Boise State (12-1) and No. 4 seed Arizona State (11-2) were awarded first-round byes, guaranteed to the four highest-rated conference champions.

Clemson (10-3), which unexpectedly won the ACC title on a last-second 56-yard field goal, missed out on a first-round bye and was seeded No. 12. The Tigers will play at No. 5 seed Texas (11-2).

The other first-round matchups are: No. 11 seed SMU (11-2) at No. 6 seed Penn State (11-2); No. 10 seed Indiana (11-1) at No. 7 Notre Dame (11-1); and No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2) at No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2).

Those first-round games will be played Dec. 20 and Dec. 21 at home sites.

[Az Joe]

Crap would refuse to eat you

[Steven Scharf]

College Football Playoff

Oregon (13-0) Beat Boise; Beat Penn State; Beat Ohio State
Georgia (11-2) Beat Texas twice; Beat Tennessee; Beat Clemson
Boise State (12-1) Lost to Oregon
Arizona State (11-2) Did not play anyone who is in playoffs
Texas (11-2) Lost to Georgia twice;
Penn State (11-2) Lost to Oregon; Lost to Ohio State
Notre Dame (11-1) Did not play anyone who is in playoffs
Ohio State (10-2) Beat Penn State; Beat Indiana; Lost to Oregon
Tennessee (10-2) Lost to Georgia
Indiana (11-1) Lost to Ohio State
SMU (11-2) Lost to Clemson
Clemson (10-3) Lost to Georgia; Beat SMU

Only ND and AZ State did not play at team in the playoffs.

So some potential rematches.

Oregon vs Boise State for the Championship
Oregon vs Penn State for the Championship
Oregon vs Ohio State for the Quarter Final

Texas vs Georgia for the Championship
Clemson vs Georgia for the Championship
Tennessee vs Georgia for the Championship

Clemson vs SMU for the Championship

There are probably others.

The best ratings would be Georgia vs Oregon and would not be a rematch.

[subterfuge]

Georgia gets a bye with 2 losses? Clemson in with 3 losses and losing their last game?? Tell me 3 loss Alabama wouldn’t beat them. Ridiculous. And I hate bama.

[kosciusko51]

I guess it wasn’t a meaningful game...

[dfwgator]

Wonder how Bama fans feel now.

[kosciusko51]

Like someone who was mugged. Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Miami also would have put up a better fight than the untested ponies. Stevie Wonder could have seen this coming.

[wgmalabama]

There were multiple teams that would have done better than SMU. We all knew SMU would look pathetic out there. However, if Alabama wanted to be in the hunt, they shouldn’t have lost to VANDERBILT and get destroyed by Oklahoma.

[kosciusko51]

Clemson played Texas closer than I expected, but after the first half, the outcome was not in doubt. So far, IU had the best showing in defeat.

I’m hoping Tenn/OSU is a better game.

[subterfuge]

LOL. All 4 home teams won easily. The post season bowl / playoff games are a joke now. Were those bowl games when one team is at home and the other team is on the road? Nope. So despite having stellar seasons Indiana and UT don’t get a bowl game, in a neutral site, where they’d get positive media coverage and interviews. Each team would be the toast of the town with parades and lots of followers in a bowl game.

In the new format, one team is in hostile territory and likely get booed everywhere they go during game week. The playoffs should not have expanded beyond 4 teams. Or just go to a 64 team playoff starting in September. That makes as much sense as what is happening now.

[kosciusko51]

Another part of the problem is the automatic byes for the conference champions. Winning the conference should be an automatic in, but seeding should be based on rank.

But the home field 1st round gives a distinct advantage to the home team.

I’m not sure what happened to UT other than the injuries and crowd noise. But they didn’t look prepared for that game. Of the 4 games, that was the biggest surprise.

[kosciusko51]

I guess Boise State wasn’t meaningful, either.

[gbs]

You are right👍, over matched by PSU!