College Football Playoff Rankings projection: Alabama at Penn State highlights first-round games in bracket

The expanded College Football Playoff expects to be SEC and Big Ten-heavy after Notre Dame drops from projected field.

By Brad Crawford Sep 10, 2024 at 2:25 pm ET• 9 min read

Early returns in the College Football Playoff race suggest the SEC will dominate the first year of expansion after the league placed six teams inside the top seven nationally in this week's updated AP Poll. Texas taking Michigan behind the woodshed along with Tennessee's 44-point splatteringof previously-ranked NC State were barometer non-conference matchups in Week 2 that will be viewed favorably by the selection committee down the road.

After Week 3, my projected automatic bids from expected Power 4 champions along with a Group of Five entry include Georgia (SEC), Ohio State (Big Ten), Miami (ACC), Iowa State (Big 12) and Texas State (Group of Five, from the Sun Belt Conference). 

As for seven projected at-large selections, the selection committee will get their pick of various Power Four. Heavyweights graced with competitive schedules whose finishes in the elite-tier of their respective conferences will dictate placement. Not necessarily following this week's updated polls, I'm expecting the SEC and Big Ten to gobble up allof those spots at this junction. 

This would leave the ACC and Big 12 as one-bid leagues, unless there's a one-loss representative from one of those conferences who could trump others for one of the final spots. While Miami is the clear-cut frontrunner at this point in the ACC, the title race in the Big 12 is wide open with Iowa State possessing a notable ranked win over Iowa before league play begins.