Latest College Football Playoff ranking predictions: Why Clemson should be a big Wake Forest fan

Posted by Admin November 19, 2024 Football

The latest College Football Playoff rankings reveal are released on Tuesday, and Clemson football should return to the top 20.

The Tigers’ road win over Pitt is the best on the résumé to this point, and the rivalry game with South Carolina would overtake that one in a couple of weeks if they win.

But how close will Clemson get to factoring into the at-large conversation?

Here’s how we see the CFP rankings shake out on Tuesday:

Our CFP projection, based off of the previous week’s rankings:

Oregon
Ohio State
Texas
Penn State
Indiana
Notre Dame
Miami (Fla.)
Ole Miss
Georgia
Alabama
Tennessee
Boise State
SMU
BYU
Colorado
South Carolina
Texas A&M
Clemson
Army
Tulane
UNLV
Arizona State
Illinois
Memphis
Kansas State

Some notes:

Clemson moves up a couple of spots, to No. 18, in our CFP projections. South Carolina jumps up to No. 16, though that ranking order is irrelevant with the rivalry game coming up in less than two weeks.
Can Clemson surge into the at-large conversation? It’s not easy to see a path. Finishing at 10-2 is important, of course. How far would Notre Dame fall with another loss? Would a 10-2 Clemson be ahead of a 9-3 Tennessee? Can Army at 13-0 and Boise State at 12-1 both reach the CFP?
Nationally, the attention will be on the order of Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia and Tennessee on the bubble. Does Georgia rise above Alabama and Ole Miss despite the prior losses? How far does Tennessee drop?
Miami and SMU play a role in this, too, for the ACC. If the Hurricanes lose to either Wake Forest or Syracuse, Clemson is in the ACC Championship Game. If SMU loses to Cal and Virginia, Clemson is in the ACC Championship Game. Winning the ACC still appears to be the most likely way for Clemson to make the CFP.

CFP projected seeds

No. 1 seed Oregon (Big Ten champion)
No. 2 seed Texas (SEC champion)
No. 3 seed Miami (Fla.) (ACC champion)
No. 4 seed BYU (Big 12 champion)
No. 5 seed Ohio State
No. 6 seed Penn State
No. 7 seed Indiana
No. 8 seed Notre Dame
No. 9 seed Ole Miss
No. 10 seed Georgia
No. 11 seed Alabama
No. 12 seed Boise State (non-Power Four conference champion)

First teams out: Tennessee, SMU, Colorado, South Carolina, Texas A&M

CFP first-round projections

No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State
No. 11 Alabama at No. 6 Penn State
No. 10 Georgia at No. 7 Indiana
No. 9 Ole Miss at No. 8 Notre Dame

CFP quarterfinal projections

No. 1 Oregon vs. Notre Dame/Ole Miss
No. 2 Texas vs. Indiana/Georgia
No. 3 BYU vs. Penn State/Alabama
No. 4 Miami (Fla.) vs. Ohio State/Boise State

The next batch of CFP rankings will be revealed on Nov. 19, with rankings reveals coming out weekly each Tuesday until the final rankings come out on Sunday, Dec. 8.

CFP rankings reveals

Nov. 5
Nov. 12
Nov. 19
Nov. 26
Dec. 3
Dec. 8

Tuesday’s CFP rankings reveal is set for 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Time: Approx. 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 19
TV Channel: ESPN
Live stream: FUBO (free trial), ESPN app

The latest College Football Playoff rankings reveal takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 19 on ESPN, with Rece Davis leading the coverage. Streaming options for the game include FUBO, which offers a free trial to new subscribers.

This is the first year of the 12-team format for the CFP, with four first-round and four quarterfinal games added to the CFP slate. The winners of the ACC, SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 will earn a top-four seed, and the highest-ranked conference champion from outside those conferences will earn a bid.

The top four ranked conference champions will get a first-round bye, while those seeded Nos. 5-8 will host first-round games in December. The seeds will be laid out via their final CFP rankings when they are revealed on Dec. 8.

A tip: It’s possible, if not probable, that the top four seeds won’t resemble the same order as the final CFP rankings. For example, if Penn State is ranked No. 3 in the final rankings but does not win the Big Ten, it can be seeded no higher than fifth.

The formal bracket will look like this:

CFP first round

Dec. 20 or 21

No. 9 seed at No. 8 seed, Time TBD
No. 12 seed at No. 5 seed, Time TBD
No. 10 seed at No. 7 seed, Time TBD
No. 11 seed at No. 6 seed, Time TBD

CFP quarterfinals

Dec. 31 or Jan. 1, 2025

No. 1 seed (highest-ranked conference champion) vs. No. 8/No. 9 winner, Site and time TBD
No. 4 seed (fourth highest-ranked conference champion) vs. No. 5/No. 12 winner, Site and time TBD
No. 2 seed (second highest-ranked conference champion) vs. No. 7/No. 10 winner, Site and time TBD
No. 3 seed (third highest-ranked conference champion) vs. No. 6/No. 11 winner, Site and time TBD

CFP semifinals

Jan. 9 or 10, 2025

No. 1 seed-8/9 winner vs. No. 4 seed-5/12 winner, Site and time TBD
No. 2 seed-7/10 winner vs. No. 3 seed-6/11 winner, Site and time TBD

CFP National Championship

Jan. 20, 2025

Semifinal No. 1 winner vs. Semifinal No. 2 winner in Atlanta

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.