College Football Playoff: ESPN predicts 2024 12-team bracket, full bowl slate after Week 6

After the insanity of Week 6, ESPN’s updates to their projections for the postseason saw significant shifts, including those throughout the dozen seeds for the College Football Playoff.

The biggest changes obviously came for those within the SEC. After having five teams projected in last week, the Southeastern Conference is down to four with several going down as far as seeding following three upsets.

With that, the Big Ten, with much focus now on the biggest game of the league’s season so far coming up next weekend, and the ACC each saw teams of theirs move upward while the Big 12 added a new team in the latest from ESPN. There’s also now an interesting new look in the No. 11 and No. 12 seeds.

Again, Saturday had results that, as one writer put it, made it “impossible to put together a playoff field that anyone can feel truly confident about”. Still, here’s how the playoff looks now for Kyle Bonagura and Mark Schlabach following their update after the first weekend of October:

College Football Playoff: First-round game #1

Bonagura: No. 12 Notre Dame at No. 5 Oregon
Schlabach: No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Oregon

Oregon has found itself over the past four weeks with three wins, including two over conference competition, by an average margin of 25.7 ppg.. That has them all the way up to the No. 5 seed now as the highest-rated at-large.

As for who they’d host, Bonagura and Schlabach disagree between Boise State out of the Mountain West or Notre Dame as an independent. That’s of note as the Ducks have already played the Broncos at home earlier this season in what was a 37-34 victory. The Irish would also make for quite a matchup in Eugene.

College Football Playoff: First-round game #2

Bonagura: No. 11 Boise State at No. 6 Penn State
Schlabach: No. 11 Notre Dame at No. 6 Georgia

The No. 11 seed again comes down to either the Broncos or the Fighting Irish at ESPN.

Bonagura went with Boise State as they’d head out to Happy Valley to play Penn State. Schlabach instead had Notre Dame with them going down between the hedges to face off with Georgia.

College Football Playoff: First-round game #3

Bonagura: No. 10 Iowa State at No. 7 Alabama
Schlabach: No. 10 Tennessee at No. 7 Penn State

Following their loss this weekend, Alabama is now the No. 7 seed for Bonagura. That’s a two-spot drop as they’d host his tenth seed in the Iowa State Cyclones.

Then, after their own defeat yesterday, Tennessee was down for Schlabach to No. 10. That has the Volunteers now going on the road in the playoff with him projecting them to play the Nittany Lions.

College Football Playoff: First-round game #4

Bonagura: No. 9 Clemson at No. 8 Georgia
Schlabach: No. 9 Clemson at No. 8 Alabama

Clemson is up one or two spots for both experts after a fourth-straight large win, including their first three in the ACC.

Still, that would mean quite the difficult opener for them according to ESPN. One has them going to Georgia, who is their only loss this season by a margin of 31 points, while the other has them going to Alabama, who was just previously the No. 1 seed for him in the week prior.

CFP Quarterfinal at the Fiesta Bowl

Bonagura: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 BYU
Schlabach: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Iowa State

After opening win in the first round, Oregon would move on to a quarterfinal against the Big 12 Champion.

Bonagura still has it being the BYU Cougars after their undefeated start to this season. Schlabach, though, changed his out from last week as it’s now the Iowa State Cyclones after they too are at five wins, including two in league play, with no losses to this point.

CFP Quarterfinal at the Peach Bowl

Bonagura: No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 3 Miami
Schlabach: No. 8 Alabama vs. No. 1 Texas

Frankly, Miami has done all that they can in their past pair of games to not be in the No. 3 seed for the playoff as the ACC Champion. Still, after finding ways to get them both in the end in a four-point win over Virginia Tech and a one-point victory at California, The ‘U remain in that spot to play Penn State.

Schlbach then re-slotted one of the bowls based on a technicality with this being where he placed No. 1 Texas vs. No. 8 Alabama.

CFP Quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl Game

Bonagura: No. 7 Alabama vs. No. 2 Ohio State
Schlabach: No. 7 Penn State vs. No. 2 Ohio State

Ohio State has maintained their standing as the No. 2 overall seed in the playoff as the projected winner of the Big Ten Championship. That’s even more legitimate now with two wins to open conference play by 31 and 28 points respectively.

In Pasadena, the Buckeyes would then play either ‘Bama or a rematch from the regular season in the Nittany Lions.

CFP Quarterfinal at the Sugar Bowl

Bonagura: No. 8 Georgia vs. No. 1 Texas
Schlabach: No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 3 Miami

Despite being on a bye this week, Texas is back up to being the No. 1 seed for the CFP at ESPN. For Bonagura, that leads to a potential third matchup for them against Georgia.

The technicality for Schlabach would be the placement of the Peach Bowl being in Atlanta, which would have Miami at a disadvantage. That’s why the Peach Bowl and Sugar Bowl look that much different between the two experts.

CFP Semifinal at the Orange Bowl

Bonagura: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 1 Texas
Schlabach: No. 6 Georgia vs. No. 2 Ohio State

Bonagura and Schlabach concur on their projections for the semifinals in the Orange Bowl. It’s just a matter of which bowl where they end up.

For Bonagura, Texas advances as the No. 1 seed to face No. 5 Oregon, which is the same as Schlabach except in the Cotton Bowl Classic next. The Orange Bowl for him is then actually a rematch from the Peach Bowl in 2022.

CFP Semifinal at the Cotton Bowl Classic

Bonagura: No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 2 Ohio State
Schlabach: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 1 Texas

ESPN’s experts also agree in the opposite semifinal in Arlington.

The Buckeyes at No. 2 would play a kind of rematch at No. 6 against the Nittany Lions or the Bulldogs. This is then where you’ll find the same matchup between No. 1 Texas and No. 5 Oregon.

CFP National Championship

Bonagura: No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Texas
Schlabach: No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Texas

After what happened on Saturday, the College Football Playoff has a new projection for the national championship at ESPN.

Bonagura and Schlabach think that it’ll be a top-two matchup between Texas out of the SEC and Ohio State from the Big Ten in Atlanta. That would mean a title for either the Longhorns or Buckeyes based on where this sits entering the second month of the season.

TicketCity has been a top source for college football tickets since 1990. They buy & sell tickets for all games. CLICK HERE to buy online NOW!

ESPN 2024 Bowl Season predictions after Week 4

Celebration Bowl

Bonagura: Florida A&M vs. NC Central
Schlabach: Florida A&M vs. NC Central

Camellia Bowl

Bonagura: Virginia vs. Louisiana
Schlabach: Ohio vs. Louisiana Monroe

Frisco Bowl

Bonagura: Oregon State vs. South Florida
Schlabach: Louisiana vs. North Texas

Boca Raton Bowl

Bonagura: UConn vs. Coastal Carolina
Schlabach: Buffalo vs. Tulane

L.A. Bowl

Bonagura: California vs. UNLV
Schlabach: California vs. UNLV

New Orleans Bowl

Bonagura: Western Kentucky vs. Texas State
Schlabach: Liberty vs. James Madison

Cure Bowl

Bonagura: Marshall vs. Jacksonville State
Schlabach: South Florida vs. Coastal Carolina

Gasparilla Bowl

Bonagura: Georgia Tech vs. South Carolina
Schlabach: Boston College vs. South Carolina

Myrtle Beach Bowl

Bonagura: Georgia Southern vs. Bowling Green
Schlabach: Marshall vs. Charlotte

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Bonagura: Eastern Michigan vs. Fresno State
Schlabach: Bowling Green vs. Fresno State

Hawaii Bowl

Bonagura: Sam Houston State vs. Nevada
Schlabach: Western Kentucky vs. Colorado State

Detroit Bowl

Bonagura: Toledo vs. Maryland
Schlabach: Toledo vs. Wisconsin

Guaranteed Rate Bowl

Bonagura: Rutgers vs. Cincinnati
Schlabach: Iowa vs. Arizona

68 Ventures Bowl

Bonagura: Buffalo vs. South Alabama
Schlabach: Jacksonville State vs. Georgia Southern

Birmingham Bowl

Bonagura: Vanderbilt vs. North Texas
Schlabach: Vanderbilt vs. NC State

Armed Forces Bowl

Bonagura: James Madison vs. Navy
Schlabach: West Virginia vs. Army

Liberty Bowl

Bonagura: UCF vs. Arkansas
Schlabach: BYU vs. Kentucky

Holiday Bowl

Bonagura: SMU vs. Washington State
Schlabach: SMU vs. Colorado

Las Vegas Bowl

Bonagura: Kentucky vs. Colorado
Schlabach: Arkansas vs. Washington State

Fenway Bowl

Bonagura: Memphis vs. Syracuse
Schlabach: Memphis vs. Virginia Tech

Pinstripe Bowl

Bonagura: Virginia Tech vs. Iowa
Schlabach: Syracuse vs. Illinois

New Mexico Bowl

Bonagura: San José State vs. Washington
Schlabach: San Diego State vs. Texas State

Pop-Tarts Bowl

Bonagura: Pittsburgh vs. Texas Tech
Schlabach: Pittsburgh vs. Utah

Arizona Bowl

Bonagura: Ohio vs. Colorado State
Schlabach: Central Michigan vs. San José State

Military Bowl

Bonagura: North Carolina vs. Army
Schlabach: Duke vs. Navy

Alamo Bowl

Bonagura: Kansas State vs. USC
Schlabach: Kansas State vs. Washington

Independence Bowl

Bonagura: TCU vs. Utah
Schlabach: Arizona State vs. Oregon State

Music City Bowl

Bonagura: Illinois vs. LSU
Schlabach: Michigan vs. Missouri

ReliaQuest Bowl

Bonagura: Michigan vs. Tennessee
Schlabach: Indiana vs. Ole Miss

Sun Bowl

Bonagura: Boston College vs. Arizona
Schlabach: Georgia Tech vs. USC

Citrus Bowl

Bonagura: Indiana vs. Ole Miss
Schlabach: Nebraska vs. Texas A&M

Texas Bowl

Bonagura: West Virginia vs. Oklahoma
Schlabach: Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma

Gator Bowl

Bonagura: Louisville vs. Texas A&M
Schlabach: Louisville vs. LSU

First Responder Bowl

Bonagura: Oklahoma State vs. Wisconsin
Schlabach: UCF vs. Minnesota

Duke’s Mayo Bowl

Bonagura: Duke vs. Nebraska
Schlabach: Virginia vs. Rutgers

Bahamas Bowl

Bonagura: Liberty vs. Northern Illinois
Schlabach: Sam Houston State vs. Eastern Michigan