College Football Playoff: ESPN predicts 2024 12-team bracket, full bowl slate after Week 10

We now have only a little more than a month left to go in the regular season as the race for the 12-team College Football Playoff is heating up. With Week 10 now in the rearview, ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach have updated their 2024 playoff predictions and bowl projections.

In the new expanded playoff format, the five highest ranked conference champions will receive automatic bids with the highest four ranked of those teams getting first-round byes. The remaining eight teams will play each other for the right to move on with the No. 5 through No. 8 teams all getting to host home games.

After that, the four winners from those games will advance to face the top four seeds in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal and semifinals games will make up the traditional New Year’s Six bowl games, culminating with the national championship on Jan. 20.

You can view the full 2024 College Football Playoff projections from ESPN below.

College Football Playoff First Round Game #1

Bonagura: No. 12 Alabama at No. 5 Indiana
Schlabach: No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Ohio State

Different matchups here for the No. 12 vs. No. 5 game in the first round with Bonagura opting for the Hoosiers to host in Bloomington. Welcoming Alabama? Oh boy.

Boise State gets the final spot for Schlabach and will travel to the Horseshoe to play Ohio State. Would they fare better against that Big Ten foe rather than Oregon?

College Football Playoff First Round Game #2

Bonagura: No. 11 Boise State at No. 6 Ohio State
Schlabach: No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Texas

Here’s where Boise State ends up for Bonagura, still on the road though. He has the same matchup as above, just with different seedings in the bracket.

SMU gets in for Schlabach and will travel not too far to take on Texas. That would be a very intriguing first round game for state supremacy. Can you imagine SMU’s run in its first year in the ACC?

College Football Playoff First Round Game #3

Bonagura: No. 10 Penn State at No. 7 Texas
Schlabach: No. 10 Tennessee at No. 7 Indiana

Bonagura has Penn State sneaking in as the 10th seed but they have no easy task going to Austin to take on the Longhorns. Texas misses out on an SEC title here.

Tennessee gets in for Schlabach and the playoff gets weird with the Volunteers going to Indiana. Cash your bets if you had that in the preseason.

College Football Playoff First Round Game #4

Bonagura: No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Notre Dame
Schlabach: No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Penn State

Bonagura is going with Tennessee to travel to Notre Dame and on paper, man that’s a great matchup. The history of both programs? College football at its finest.

Schlabach has Notre Dame within these seedings as well, but he has the Fighting Irish going to Penn State. White out energy coming?

CFP Quarterfinal at the Fiesta Bowl

Bonagura: No. 5 Indiana vs. No. 4 BYU
Schlabach: No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 4 BYU

BYU is the fourth seed for both men, getting a bye after winning the Big 12. Indiana will take them on, per Bonagura, winning a first round game over Alabama.

Schlabach has Ohio State advancing and beating Boise State to travel to BYU. The Buckeyes might be a team possessed at this point.

CFP Quarterfinal at the Peach Bowl

Bonagura: No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Miami
Schlabach: No. 6 Texas vs. No. 3 Miami

Both writers have all the same conference champions, so let’s get that out of the way (in terms of the top four seeds). Ohio State at Miami? Oh man that’s good.

Texas at Miami? That’s good too! It’s a shame these games can’t take place on campus sites, rather than the bowls. Still, the Peach Bowl will be rocking.

CFP Quarterfinal at Rose Bowl

Bonagura: No. 8 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Oregon
Schlabach: No. 9 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Oregon

The pageantry of this Rose Bowl game just seems right. Notre Dame playing Oregon? Yeah, sign us up for that.

Bonagura had Notre Dame beating Tennessee at home while Schlabach had them beating the Nittany Lions on the road. So either way, Notre Dame is advancing it seems!

CFP Quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl

Bonagura: No. 7 Texas vs. No. 2 Georgia
Schlabach: No. 7 Indiana vs. No. 2 Georgia

Texas and Georgia get a rematch here. Whether it’s their second or third meeting remains to be seen. But the Sugar Bowl will be intense.

How about Indiana playing with house money according to Schlabach? Taking on Georgia after beating Tennessee. Can they go two for two in the SEC?

CFP Semifinal at the Orange Bowl

Bonagura: No. 5 Indiana vs. No. 1 Oregon
Schlabach: No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Oregon

Are you guys smiling right now? Because Indiana winning two playoff games to get to the semifinals is awesome. Bonagura has them beating BYU in the quarters to take on Big Ten foe Oregon, which could very well be a Big Ten title game rematch.

Schlabach has a rematch too, but it;s Ohio State and Oregon. This could be the third meeting when it;s all said and done as well.

CFP Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl

Bonagura: No. 3 Miami vs. No. 2 Georgia
Schlabach: No. 3 Miami vs. No. 2 Georgia

The same matchup for both ESPN writers applies here. The Hurricanes get a win in the quarterfinals and are one game from a national title appearance.

But, Georgia stands in the way as the Bulldogs look for their third title in four seasons. Good luck.

CFP National Championship

Bonagura: No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 1 Oregon
Schlabach: No. 2 Georgia vs. No. 1 Oregon

Just like the last semifinal, both Bonagura and Schlabach have a No. 1 and 2 matchup coming out of the 12-team playoff. So who do you like? Oregon or Georgia?

Neither man made an exact pick, but the one thing to look out for is QB play. Carson Beck is hurting his team, but they’re still winning. Dillon Gabriel is starting to heat up.

ESPN 2024 Bowl Season predictions after Week 10

Saturday, Dec. 14

Cricket Celebration Bowl
Bonagura: Jackson State vs. NC Central
Schlabach: Jackson State vs. NC Central

Camellia Bowl
Bonagura: Boston College vs. West Virginia
Schlabach: Ohio vs. Louisiana-Monroe

Tuesday, Dec. 17

Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl
Bonagura: Oregon State vs. North Texas
Schlabach: Arkansas State vs. North Texas

Wednesday, Dec. 18

Boca Raton Bowl
Bonagura: East Carolina vs. UConn
Schlabach: Miami (Ohio) vs. Memphis

LA Bowl
Bonagura: Washington vs. UNLV
Schlabach: Washington vs. UNLV

Thursday, Dec. 19

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Bonagura: Sam Houston vs. James Madison
Schlabach: Liberty vs. Georgia Southern

Friday, Dec. 20

StaffDNA Cure Bowl
Bonagura: Bowling Green vs. Georgia Southern
Schlabach: East Carolina vs. Marshall

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl
Bonagura: NC State vs. Oklahoma
Schlabach: Boston College vs. UTSA

Monday, Dec. 23

Myrtle Beach Bowl
Bonagura: South Florida vs. Marshall
Schlabach: South Florida vs. Old Dominion

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl
Bonagura: Ohio vs. San José State
Schlabach: Buffalo vs. Fresno State

Tuesday, Dec. 24

Hawai’i Bowl
Bonagura: Western Kentucky vs. Colorado State
Schlabach: Western Kentucky vs. Colorado State

Thursday, Dec. 26

GameAbove Sports Bowl
Bonagura: Toledo vs. Michigan State
Schlabach: Western Michigan vs. Michigan State

Rate Bowl
Bonagura: Nebraska vs. Baylor
Schlabach: Nebraska vs. TCU

68 Ventures Bowl
Bonagura: Northern Illinois vs. Texas State
Schlabach: Jacksonville State vs. James Madison

Friday, Dec. 27

Birmingham Bowl
Bonagura: Florida vs. Rutgers
Schlabach: Arkansas vs. North Carolina

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Bonagura: Louisiana vs. Navy
Schlabach: West Virginia vs. Army

AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Bonagura: Cincinnati vs. Arkansas
Schlabach: Baylor vs. Vanderbilt

DirecTV Holiday Bowl
Bonagura: SMU vs. Colorado
Schlabach: Clemson vs. Colorado

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl
Bonagura: Missouri vs. California
Schlabach: Ole Miss vs. Arizona State

Saturday, Dec. 28

Wasabi Fenway Bowl
Bonagura: Tulane vs. Georgia Tech
Schlabach: Tulane vs. NC State

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl
Bonagura: Syracuse vs. Wisconsin
Schlabach: Virginia Tech vs. Wisconsin

Isleta New Mexico Bowl
Bonagura: Fresno State vs. Buffalo
Schlabach: San Diego State vs. Texas State

Pop-Tarts Bowl
Bonagura: Pittsburgh vs. Kansas State
Schlabach: Pittsburgh vs. Iowa State

Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl
Bonagura: Western Michigan vs. Hawaii
Schlabach: Eastern Michigan vs. San José State

Go Bowling Military Bowl
Bonagura: Virginia Tech vs. Army
Schlabach: Georgia Tech vs. Navy

Valero Alamo Bowl
Bonagura: Iowa State vs. Washington State
Schlabach: Kansas State vs. Washington State

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
Bonagura: USC vs. UCF
Schlabach: Louisiana vs. Cincinnati

Monday, Dec. 30

TransPerfect Music City Bowl
Bonagura: Minnesota vs. LSU
Schlabach: Michigan vs. Missouri

Tuesday, Dec. 31

ReliaQuest Bowl
Bonagura: Illinois vs. Ole Miss
Schlabach: Minnesota vs. Texas A&M

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl
Bonagura: Louisville vs. Arizona State
Schlabach: Duke vs. USC

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Bonagura: Iowa vs. Texas A&M
Schlabach: Iowa vs. Alabama

Texas Bowl
Bonagura: Texas Tech vs. South Carolina
Schlabach: Texas Tech vs. South Carolina

Thursday, Jan. 2

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
Bonagura: Clemson vs. Vanderbilt
Schlabach: Syracuse vs. LSU

Friday, Jan. 3

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl
Bonagura: TCU vs. Memphis
Schlabach: UConn vs. Toledo

Duke’s Mayo Bowl
Bonagura: Duke vs. Michigan
Schlabach: Louisville vs. Illinois

Saturday, Jan. 4Bahamas Bowl
Bonagura: Jacksonville State vs. Miami (Ohio)
Schlabach: Sam Houston vs. Bowling Green