What a 24-team College Football Playoff would look like this season

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The College Football Playoff has been constantly expanding since its inception back in 2014, and now it is doing so again. On Thursday, it was announced that the CFP will be expanding to 24 teams starting next season, a move that will eliminate conference championship games and give first-round byes to the top eight teams.

This announcement was met with vitriol from most of the public, many of whom think that the regular season will be devalued with this move. That may be true, as one, two or even three losses no longer means the end of your season.

As it stands, three losses is almost surely a death sentence for your playoff hopes, but that wouldn’t be the case in a 24-team field. Think of all the teams in the middle of the SEC and the Big Ten races at the halfway point of the regular season: Mississippi State, Missouri, Kentucky, LSU, Texas, Ole Miss, Iowa, Nebraska, Oregon, USC, and more. All of those teams now have one or two more losses that they can afford to have during the back half of the season.

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This move will also open up more spots for the Big 12 and the ACC, which only combined to have two teams in the CFP a year ago. But now, even with Miami (FL) projected to win the ACC, other schools like SMU, Pitt, Wake Forest and Virginia Tech would have paths to the field. In the Big 12, a cluster of teams at the top like this year’s with BYU, Texas Tech, Baylor, Utah, Houston and Oklahoma State would be rewarded in a system like this.

Following Week 6, we predicted the 12-team College Football Playoff like we do every week. But what would a hypothetical 24-team field look like? We simulated the rest of the season and predicted a national champion.

1. Ohio State (12-1, Big Ten Champion)

2. Alabama (12-1, SEC Champion)

3. Notre Dame (12-0)

4. Georgia (11-2, SEC Runner-Up)

5. Miami (FL) (12-1, ACC Champion)

6. Ole Miss (10-2)

7. Utah (12-1, Big 12 Champion)

8. Indiana (11-2, Big Ten Runner-Up)

9. UCLA (11-1)

10. Texas (9-3)

11. Kentucky (10-2)

12. Oklahoma State (11-2, Big 12 Runner-Up)

13. LSU (9-3)

14. Missouri (9-3)

15. BYU (10-2)

16. Boise State (12-1, Pac-12 Champion)

17. Texas Tech (10-2)

18. Oregon (9-3)

19. SMU (10-3, ACC Runner-Up)

20. Wake Forest (10-2)

21. Iowa (10-2)

22. Mississippi State (8-4)

23. Arizona (9-3)

24. USC (8-4)

First Round Predictions

No. 9 UCLA defeats No. 24 USC

No. 10 Texas defeats No. 23 Arizona

No. 11 Kentucky defeats No. 22 Mississippi State

No. 12 Oklahoma State defeats No. 21 Iowa

No. 13 LSU defeats No. 20 Wake Forest

No. 14 Missouri defeats No. 19 SMU

No. 18 Oregon defeats No. 15 BYU

No. 17 Texas Tech defeats No. 16 Boise State

Second Round Predictions

No. 1 Ohio State defeats No. 17 Texas Tech

No. 2 Alabama defeats No. 18 Oregon

No. 3 Notre Dame defeats No. 14 Missouri

No. 4 Georgia defeats No. 13 LSU

No. 5 Miami (FL) defeats No. 12 Oklahoma State

No. 6 Ole Miss defeats No. 11 Kentucky

No. 10 Texas defeats No. 7 Utah

No. 8 Indiana defeats No. 9 UCLA

Quarterfinal Predictions

No. 1 Ohio State defeats No. 8 Indiana

No. 2 Alabama defeats No. 10 Texas

No. 3 Notre Dame defeats No. 6 Ole Miss

No. 5 Miami (FL) defeats No. 4 Georgia

Semifinal Predictions

No. 5 Miami (FL) defeats No. 1 Ohio State

No. 2 Alabama defeats No. 3 Notre Dame

National Championship

No. 5 Miami (FL) defeats No. 2 Alabama

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