2024 College Football Playoff Projections: Tennessee or Ole Miss for the Finals overall?
With Georgia’s 31-17 win over Tennessee, the 8-2 Vols could be on their way to the dreaded “first team out” distinction. I’m curious to see if the committee leaves them ahead of 8-2 Ole Miss this week. The Rebels have two Top 25 wins (Georgia and at South Carolina) against Tennessee’s (Alabama), but they also have a bad home loss to 4-6 Kentucky. I still think it will be Ole Miss over Tennessee for the last major spot.
The wild card is Indiana – if the Hoosiers get blown out by Ohio State this week. While it’s hard to imagine an 11-1 Big Ten team falling by the wayside, this team could finish the season without beating a single opponent that finishes above .500. I’m sticking with IU for now because the committee generally believes that one loss is better than two. (See Texas.)
With BYU suffering its first loss, to Kansas 4-6, it’s hard to see the Big 12 getting a second team in the field. In fact, I think the Big 12 title game will be 10-2 Colorado vs. 10-2 Arizona State. I saw some suggest that if Boise State finishes 12-1, it could be ranked higher than the Big 12 champion and get the No. 4 seed. But whoever wins that competition will add at least one, possibly two Top 25 wins between now and December 8. Unless it’s a three-loss Big 12 champion, that team will top Boise State.
(Photos by Nico Iamaleava, Jaxson Dart, Dale Zanine / Nelson Chenault / Imagn Images)
