CFP releases third rankings: Full bracket reveal for 12-team playoff

The College Football Playoff is drawing near, and we got yet another round of exciting rankings Tuesday night on ESPN.

There was plenty of intrigue for teams across the upper echelon of the US LBM Coaches Poll. Last week, the committee doled out projected byes to Oregon (No. 1 in the US LBM Coaches Poll), Texas, Miami and BYU. But things have changed now. Now, it’s Boise State that leapfrogs the Cougars as the fourth highest-ranked projected conference champ, which would earn them a first-round bye.

Elsewhere in the rankings, LSU has fallen out entirely, with Army, the lowest-ranked undefeated team in the rankings slowly crawling up. In the first CFP rankings, they were No. 25. Now, just two weeks later, they are ranked No. 19. Of course, everything could change for them drastically as they prepare for a matchup with No. 6 Notre Dame this Saturday.

Here is everything to know about Tuesday’s CFP rankings and live updates for the latest release.

College Football Playoffs 2024: Third CFP rankings

* – projected first-round bye

• No. 1 Oregon (11-0)*
• No. 2 Ohio State (9-1)
• No. 3 Texas (9-1)*
• No. 4 Penn State (9-1)
• No. 5 Indiana (10-0)
• No. 6 Notre Dame (9-1)
• No. 7 Alabama (8-2)
• No. 8 Miami (9-1)*
• No. 9 Ole Miss (8-2)
• No. 10 Georgia (8-2)
• No. 11 Tennessee (9-2)
• No. 12 Boise State (9-1)*
• No. 13 SMU (9-1)
• No. 14 BYU (9-1) – would earn No. 12 seed as fifth highest ranked conference champion
• No. 15 Texas A&M (8-2)
• No. 16 Colorado (8-2)
• No. 17 Clemson (8-2)
• No. 18. South Carolina (7-3)
• No. 19 Army (9-0)
• No. 20 Tulane (9-2)
• No. 21 Arizona State (8-2)
• No. 22 Iowa State (8-2)
• No. 23 Missouri (7-3)
• No. 24 UNLV (8-2)
• No. 25 Illinois (7-3)

CFP Bracket

Based on latest CFP rankings and projections.

First Round:

• No. 14 BYU at No. 2 Ohio State
• No. 7 Alabama at No. 6 Notre Dame
• No. 10 Georgia at No. 4 Penn State
• No. 9 Ole Miss at No. 5 Indiana

Quarterfinals:

• (Winner of BYU vs. Ohio State) vs. No. 12 Boise State
• (Winner of Alabama vs. Notre Dame) vs. No. 1 Oregon
• (Winner of Georgia vs. Penn State) vs. No. 8 Miami
• (Winner of Ole Miss vs. Indiana) vs. No. 3 Texas

2024 CFP schedule

All times Eastern.

First Round:

• Game 1: Friday, December 20 at 8 p.m. | ABC, ESPN
• Game 2: Saturday, December 21 at 12 p.m. | TNT Sports
• Game 3: Saturday, December 21 at 4 p.m. | TNT Sports
• Game 4: Saturday, December 21 at 8 p.m. | ABC, ESPN

Playoff Quarterfinals Round:

• Vrbo Fiesta Bowl: Tuesday, December 31 at 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
• Chick-fil-a Peach Bowl: Wednesday, January 1 at 1 p.m. | ESPN
• Rose Bowl: Wednesday, January 1 at 5 p.m. | ESPN
• Allstate Sugar Bowl: Wednesday, January 1 at 8:45 p.m. | ESPN

Playoff Semifinals Round:

• Capital One Orange Bowl: Thursday, January 9 at 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
• Goodyear Cotton Bowl: Friday, January 10 at 7:30 p.m. | ESPN

National Championship:

• National Championship: Monday, January 20 at 7:30 p.m. | ESPN

How to watch CFP Rankings release show: Time, TV, streaming

• Date: Tuesday, Nov. 19
• Time: 7 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
• Stream: Fubo

Watch the CFP Rankings Show on ESPN with a Fubo subscription

College Football Playoff predictions 

USA TODAY

• 1. Oregon (11-0)*
• 2. Texas (9-1)*
• 3. Miami (9-1)*
• 4. Boise State (9-1)*
• 5. Ohio State (9-1)
• 6. Penn State (9-1)
• 7. Indiana (10-0)
• 8. Notre Dame (9-1)
• 9. Alabama (8-2)
• 10. Georgia (8-2)
• 11. Ole Miss (8-2)
• 12. BYU (9-1)**

*Receives first-round bye, automatic bid; **Receives automatic bid

Bracket – first round games

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

ESPN

A sampling from some of the network’s experts:

Andrea Adelson: 1. Oregon 2. Texas 3. Miami 4. Colorado 5. Indiana 6. Ohio State 7. Penn State 8. Alabama 9. Ole Miss 10. Georgia 11. Notre Dame 12. Boise State

Adam Rittenberg: 1. Oregon 2. Texas 3. SMU 4. Colorado 5. Ohio State 6. Indiana 7. Penn State 8. Alabama 9. Ole Miss 10. Notre Dame 11. Georgia 12. Boise State

Paolo Uggetti: 1. Oregon 2. Texas 3. Miami 4. Colorado 5. Ohio State 6. Indiana 7. Penn State 8. Alabama 9. Ole Miss 10. Notre Dame 11. Georgia 12. Boise State

CBS Sports

First round byes:

• No. 1 Ohio State
• No. 2 Texas
• No. 3 Miami
• No. 4 Boise State

Bracket – first round games

• No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 Colorado
• No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 Alabama
• No. 7 Indiana vs. No. 10 Georgia
• No. 8 Ole Miss vs. No. 9 Penn State

When do College Football Playoff rankings come out? 

The third College Football Playoff rankings of the 2024 season will be released Tuesday, Nov. 19. A new top 25 ranking is released by the CFP selection committee every Tuesday through Dec. 3. This is followed by a CFP selection show on Dec. 8 to announce the 12-team playoff field.

Here is the schedule for the College Football Playoff rankings show. All times are Eastern:

• Ranking 3: Tuesday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
• Ranking 4: Tuesday, Nov. 26, 8 p.m. – 9 p.m.
• Ranking 5: Tuesday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
• Selection Day: Sunday, Dec. 8, noon – 4 p.m.

What time is CFP rankings show? 

The College Football Playoff rankings are released each week through a CFP rankings show broadcasted by ESPN every Tuesday, from Nov. 5 through Dec. 3. This week’s show is slated to air starting at 7 p.m. ET and ending at 8 p.m. ET.

How to watch College Football Playoff rankings show 

The College Football Playoff rankings show will air on ESPN, with the broadcast starting at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 19. Fans can also stream the show on Fubo, which is offering a free trial.

How many teams in College Football Playoff bracket 2024? 

This season, there are 12 teams in the College Football Playoff for the first time. College football previously introduced the CFP in 2014 with a four-team format. The expansion to 12 teams is set in place for the 2024 and 2025 college football seasons. Leaders within the sport have not agreed to the framework of the playoff beyond that at this point.

How does College Football Playoff format work? 

The 12 participating teams in the College Football Playoff bracket will be the five conference champions ranked highest by the CFP selection committee, and the next seven highest-ranked teams.

The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and receive a first-round bye. The fifth conference champion will be seeded where it was ranked among the top 12 teams, or at No. 12 if it is outside the top 12 in the CFP rankings. Non-conference champions ranked in the top four will be seeded beginning at No. 5.

‘Because of this,’ the CFP warns on its website, ‘the seeding, 1 through 12, could look different than the final rankings.’

For the first round, the higher-ranked team in each pairing (5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, 8 vs. 9) will serve as host on campus. The winners advance to the quarterfinals and match up with the corresponding top-four conference champion based on seeding. Quarterfinal games will played at the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The semifinals – played at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl Classic – will take place Jan. 9-10.

The two semifinal winners will play for the national championship Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. – Mark Giannotto

College Football Playoff championship odds

As of Nov. 18, here are the latest College Football Playoff title odds from BetMGM:

• Ohio State (+320)
• Oregon (+450)
• Georgia (+500)
• Texas (+500)
• Alabama (+750)
• Ole Miss (+1100)
• Penn State (+1800)
• Notre Dame (+2000)
• Indiana (+3000)
• Tennessee (+4000)
• Miami (+4000)
• Clemson (+5000)
• Colorado (+5000)
• SMU (+5000)
• Texas A&M (+10,000)
• Boise State (+10,000)
• Iowa State (+25,000)
• Tulane (+25,000)
• BYU (+25,000)
• South Carolina (+50,000)
• Arizona State (+75,000)

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