College Football Playoff: CBS Sports predicts 2024 12-team bracket, full bowl slate after Week 2
By Nick Kosko,
2024-09-11
The College Football Playoff and bowl game projections are here after Week 2 of the 2024 regular season, per CBS Sports.
The 12-team bracket saw some changes after the results over the weekend. Some went up and some went down. But it’s still a very intriguing bracket, if the season ended today of course.
Let’s dive into the College Football Playoff and postseason projections from CBS Sports . The CFP teams will show movement up or down or an “NR” for not ranked in last week’s top 12 teams.
The top four teams in the country have a first-round bye in the 12-team playoff bracket.
Georgia is still the top team in the country following the first two weeks. It was a non-competitive second game and then Clemson win Week 1 still looms large.
Until proven otherwise, the Bulldogs are the team to beat as they look for their third title in four years. Good luck stopping this train.
The Buckeyes had two dominating victories to open the season and it looks like everything is firing off on all cylinders. Next up is Marshall, so expect the Buckeyes to be 3-0 at the end of the weekend.
Will Howard, Jeremiah Smith and Quinshon Judkins were the talk of the town on offense over the first two weeks. BUt despite the competition, don’t overlook the defense that only gave up six points in two games.
The Hurricanes moved up a spot this week following a 56-9 win over Florida A&M. The standout performance is still Week 1’s win over Florida on the road.
Cam Ward is a Heisman candidate, the run game is solid and the defense is performing at a high level so far. This is easily the best team in the ACC through two weeks.
Utah dropped a spot this week, but are still projected as the Big 12 champions. The Utes beat new Big 12 foe Baylor 23-12 over the weekend, so they already have a leg up on their new conference.
The bigger concern is the latest injury to QB Cam Rising. Rising hurt his middle finger on his throwing hand and had to exit the game. Right now, his status is unknown for Week 3.
This matchup did not change from Week 1 to Week 2. Texas dominated Michigan but did not move up in projections because there’s a school named Georgia at No. 1.
Boise State narrowly lost to Oregon but are looked at as the best Group of Five team, currently, per CBS Sports. This would certainly be a fun matchup for playoff purposes.
Speaking of Oregon, the Ducks dropped three spots as one of the at-large teams after Week 2. The aforementioned win over Boise State was too close for comfort.
Iowa State is new to these projections after a win over rival Iowa. Everyone raved about the Hawkeyes’ offense in Week 1, but the Cyclones quickly put that narrative to bed this past weekend at least.
Alabama moves up a spot despite a lackluster performance against South Florida. Yes, the Crimson Tide pulled away in the end, but the same weird game against USF last year, partly showed up thi season.
Oklahoma State makes the move into the top 12 with a win over Arkansas in overtime. Looks like the Big 12 might have more reps than originally anticipated.
Avery Johnson, Hadley Panzer and Brian Anderson/Kansas State Athletics
Penn State moved up a spot in the projections despite a close call against Bowling Green. Still, the Nittany Lions are one of the better teams in the country overall.
Kansas State stayed put after a thriller over Tulane. It seems like CBS Sports’ projections think the Wildcats will be just fine despite the close call.
The playoff and postseason projections can drastically change from week to week but a lot of teams are still in the thick of it. But it’s clear to see who CBS Sports considers the top 12 teams in the country for the playoff picture.
The games at the home sites will be the ones to watch for, since it seems like the top four teams are locked in for a little while. Of course, that’s why they play the game!
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