College Football Playoff: CBS Sports predicts 12-team CFP bracket, full bowl slate projections after Week 12

CBS Sports analyst Jerry Palm unveiled his latest projection for how the 2024 College Football Playoff and the remainder of the postseason bowl slate will play out following a revealing Week 12.

The biggest change in this week’s projection, as compared to previous weeks, is the absence of BYU, which fell from the unbeaten ranks with a stunning 17-13 home loss to Kansas. That threw the entire CFP projection into a blender and allowed another talented Big 12 program to play its way into the 12-team field despite not actually cracking the Top 12 ranking all season.

1. Ohio State

CBS Sports is squarely on the Ohio State bandwagon, keeping the Buckeyes at No. 1 in its latest playoff projection. If this is how it ultimately plays out, it would mean Ohio State not only beats Indiana in its Week 13 showdown, but gets sweet revenge on undefeated Oregon to claim the Big Ten championship.

Of course, the Hoosiers and Ducks will have a lot to say about this, but at least as far as CBS is concerned, the Buckeyes will ultimately enter the Playoff as the top seed.

2. Alabama (+1)

CBS is also confident the Crimson Tide will ultimately win out and edge out Texas in Atlanta to once again hoist the SEC Championship Trophy inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Alabama is the first beneficiary of BYU’s Big 12 setback vs. Kansas, jumping into the No. 2 overall seed and securing a first-round bye with its second-consecutive SEC Championship.

3. Miami (+1)

Palm also believes Cam Ward and the Hurricanes will bounce back from the stunning loss to Georgia Tech and go on to win the ACC, thus locking up the first-round Playoff bye.

Ward has been electric all season and has shown a propensity to make big plays when it matters, all attributes that project well in a Playoff situation.

4. Boise State (+8)

The other major beneficiary of BYU’s Week 12 loss is Boise State and Ashton Jeanty, which secures the final Playoff bye as the Mountain West champions.

This would give the college football world another opportunity to see Jeanty shine, with the potential to break Barry Sanders‘ single-season NCAA rushing record if the Broncos make a run.

12. Colorado (NR) at 5. Oregon

With BYU’s loss, CBS Sports projects Colorado and Deion Sanders will finish their miraculous turnaround in Year 2 under “Coach Prime” and win the Big 12 outright to secure the 12th and final Playoff spot.

This would set up a must-see TV matchup vs. former Pac-12 foe Oregon — coming off its own Big Ten title game loss to Ohio State — that will feature two of college football’s most exciting quarterbacks in the Ducks’ Dillon Gabriel and the Buffaloes’ Shedeur Sanders (as well as Heisman frontrunner Travis Hunter).

11. Tennessee (-1) at 6. Penn State (+2)

Colorado’s presence means a team currently in the Top 12 would get bumped, and Palm projects that team being Ole Miss, with Tennessee falling into the mix of two-loss SEC teams but staying ahead of the Rebels due to the Vols’ home win over an SEC champion Alabama.

Penn State just holds serve and benefits from avoiding a rematch with Ohio State or playing Oregon in the Big Ten title game, and will host Tennessee in a mid-December game in Happy Valley.

10. Notre Dame (-1) at 7. Georgia (-1)

In this projection, the Bulldogs miss the SEC Championship game due to their head-to-head loss to Alabama, but gets the seventh seed thanks to its own head-to-head victory at Texas earlier this season.

That would then slot Georgia in a 7-10 matchup vs. a Fighting Irish squad that would enter the Playoffs having won 10 straight since an early-season setback vs. Northern Illinois.

9. Indiana (+2) at 8. Texas (-1)

CBS expects the clock to strike midnight on the Hoosiers’ Cinderella season in the Big Ten with an Ohio State victory Saturday in Columbus. But one-loss Indiana wouldn’t fall out of the Playoff, as both the Big Ten and SEC finish with four teams in the 12-team field.

Meanwhile, based on Palm’s projections, a two-loss Texas would fall to the Tide in Atlanta but still benefit from its strong first season in the SEC and get on the Hoosiers’ dance card with homefield advantage.

Remaining Postseason Bowl Projections

Jan. 4

Bahamas Bowl: Jacksonville State vs. Western Michigan

Jan 3.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Clemson vs. Minnesota
First Responder Bowl: UTSA vs. Georgia Southern

Jan. 2

Gator Bowl: Louisville vs. South Carolina

Dec. 31

Texas Bowl: TCU vs. LSU
Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. Ole Miss
Sun Bowl: Duke vs. California
ReliaQuest Bowl: Iowa vs. Texas A&M

Dec. 30

Music City Bowl: Michigan vs. Missouri

Dec. 28

Independence Bowl: Army vs. West Virginia
Alamo Bowl: BYU vs. Washington State 
Military Bowl: Georgia Tech vs. Memphis
Arizona Bowl: Colorado State vs. Bowling Green
Pop-Tarts Bowl: SMU vs. Iowa State
New Mexico Bowl: Texas State vs. North Texas
Pinstripe Bowl: North Carolina  vs. Wisconsin
Fenway Bowl: Syracuse vs. East Carolina

Dec. 27

Las Vegas Bowl: Florida vs. Arizona State
Holiday Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. Washington
Liberty Bowl: Kansas State vs. Arkansas
Birmingham Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. Vanderbilt
Armed Forces Bowl: Baylor vs. Navy

Dec. 26

68 Ventures Bowl: Buffalo vs. Arkansas State
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Nebraska
Detroit Bowl: Michigan State vs. Miami [Ohio]

Dec. 24

Hawaii Bowl: Marshall vs. Western Kentucky

Dec. 23

Idaho Potato Bowl: Ohio vs. San Jose State
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Liberty vs. Tulane

Dec. 20

Gasparilla Bowl: Eastern Michigan vs. Virginia Tech
Cure Bowl: South Florida vs. Boston College

Dec. 19

New Orleans Bowl: Sam Houston State vs. Louisiana

Dec. 18

Los Angeles Bowl: UNLV vs. USC
Boca Raton Bowl: Rutgers vs. UConn

Dec. 17

Frisco Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. South Alabama

Dec. 14

Camellia Bowl: Toledo vs. James Madison