The 2024 season will result in main modifications to the game. Most notable, in fact, is the Faculty Soccer Playoff tripling in measurement from 4 to 12 groups. The format will reward the 4 highest-ranked convention champions with the highest 4 seeds and byes to the quarterfinals.

As a result of the byes might be handed to convention champions, it is attainable the groups that earn byes won’t truly be the 4 highest-rated groups within the remaining CFP Rankings. In our CBS Sports activities preseason projection, solely two of the highest 4 groups, No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Ohio State, obtain byes to the quarterfinals. The opposite groups skipping the primary spherical are No. 7 Utah and No. 8 Florida State, projected champions of the Huge 12 and ACC, respectively.

Meaning No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Oregon would host first-round video games because the respective fifth and sixth seeds. No. 5 Alabama and No. 6 Texas A&M are the seventh and eighth seeds, respectively. Sure, that’s 4 SEC groups among the many prime six groups within the rankings. The Crimson Tide and Aggies don’t play one another within the common season, which helps to make this attainable.

The Huge Ten is the one different convention with greater than two groups within the projected playoff. Penn State would play at Texas A&M within the first spherical. The fifth convention champion within the playoff would be the highest-rated Group of 5 league winner; Boise State holds that projection, however as it isn’t projected excessive within the remaining CFP Rankings, would take the twelfth and remaining seed.

Let’s check out how this shakes out.

Faculty Soccer Playoff

Quarterfinals

First spherical

In case you are questioning why top-seeded Georgia is projected for the Sugar Bowl as a substitute of the Peach Bowl, the CFP Choice Committee has determined to fit the highest 4 seeds in bowl video games the place their convention has a historic relationship. The SEC champion has historically performed within the Sugar Bowl, so the Bulldogs get that spot as the highest seed. No. 2 Ohio State is within the Rose Bowl, the Huge Ten’s longtime dwelling. When a standard spot isn’t obtainable, geography takes precedence.

The standard New 12 months’s Six bowls will rotate as semifinal hosts. Contributors within the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl this 12 months might be decided beginning with highest remaining seed getting preferential web site placement.

Non-CFP bowl video games might be interspersed across the playoff. 4 bowl video games are presently schedule to be performed after New 12 months’s Day. The Camellia Bowl opens the calendar on Dec. 14, only a week after the convention championship video games and the identical day because the Military-Navy Sport.

Most fun in regards to the new format are the first-round video games being at dwelling websites of the upper seeds. The house workforce has an choice to designate a close-by web site aside from its dwelling stadium if it chooses. For instance, if Purdue earned a house sport within the CFP, it may select to play at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis as a substitute of on campus. (A man can dream, cannot he?!)

The opposite important change to this season is that we enter it having mentioned goodbye to the Pac-12 — a minimum of as a aggressive entity. Oregon State and Washington State are maintaining the convention title alive for now, however they are going to be taking part in as independents holding a scheduling settlement with the Mountain West this season. Neither workforce might be eligible for the MWC title.

Regardless of not being a aggressive entity, the Pac-12 nonetheless has contracts with six bowls, which can clearly be powerful to fill with solely two remaining groups, although the Beavers and Cougars might be eligible for bids. These six bowls have made preparations with the brand new convention properties of the outdated Pac-12 groups to fill the opposite slots. The Vacation Bowl, a kind of Pac-12 bowls, has but to schedule a date for this season’s sport.

There’s one new workforce becoming a member of the FBS this season as Kennesaw State is shifting up from FCS to Convention USA. In contrast to James Madison and Jacksonville State in prior seasons, the Owls are postseason-eligible of their first FBS marketing campaign as a result of they spent their transition time taking part in in FCS. The Dukes and Gamecocks at the moment are absolutely eligible for the postseason, too.

Regardless of having extra groups concerned within the CFP, we nonetheless want the identical variety of groups to fill the bowl video games as we have now within the current previous: 82. Like the 2 earlier seasons, I count on there might be a necessity for a minimum of one 5-7 workforce to fill a bowl spot. Final 12 months was the primary time since 2016 that, in a non-pandemic season, there was a necessity for a couple of in any other case ineligible workforce. CBS Sports activities’ preliminary bowl projections have a would-be-record 5 such groups taking these bids this season.

Do not see your workforce? Take a look at Jerry Palm’s full preseason bowl projections.