The first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2024 season will be announced Tuesday. Though we have a month until the final rankings, several teams needed wins to remain in their respective conference races or hold onto their hopes for an at-large bid to the CFP.
The biggest game of the day — Ohio State’s defeat of Penn State — might have been the most important for setting the Big Ten’s pecking order. Two teams — Oregon (which beat Michigan on Saturday) and Indiana (which defeated Michigan State) are undefeated. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions each have one conference loss. Ohio State plays Indiana on Nov. 23. Penn State and Oregon won’t play another ranked opponent the rest of the regular season.
Penn State wasn’t the only undefeated team to fall. Iowa State and Pittsburgh also lost. Kansas State was upset by Houston, further muddying the Big 12 race. In the ACC, Clemson was upset at home by Louisville. That leaves Miami as the conference’s lone unbeaten and tied atop the standings with SMU.
It was a messy week throughout the top teams. Here are our experts’ top 12 College Football Playoff picks:
Andrea Adelson: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Indiana. 6. Ohio State. 7. Texas. 8. Notre Dame. 9. Tennessee. 10. Penn State. 11. SMU. 12. Boise State.
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Indiana. 6. Ohio State. 7. Texas. 8. Notre Dame. 9. Tennessee. 10. Penn State. 11. Boise State. 12. Alabama.
Bill Connelly: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Indiana. 6. Ohio State. 7. Texas. 8. Penn State. 9. Notre Dame. 10. Tennessee. 11. SMU. 12. Boise State.
David Hale: 1. Oregon. 2. Miami. 3. Georgia. 4. BYU. 5. Ohio State. 6. Texas. 7. Indiana. 8. Boise State. 9. Tennessee. 10. Penn State. 11. Notre Dame. 12. SMU.
Eli Lederman: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Indiana. 6. Ohio State. 7. Texas. 8. Penn State. 9. Notre Dame. 10. Tennessee. 11. SMU. 12. Boise State.
Chris Low: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Ohio State. 6. Texas. 7. Indiana. 8. Tennessee. 9. Notre Dame. 10. Penn State. 11. Alabama. 12. Boise State.
Harry Lyles Jr.: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Ohio State. 6. Indiana. 7. Texas. 8. Penn State. 9. Tennessee. 10. SMU. 11. Notre Dame. 12. Army.
Max Olson: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Texas. 6. Ohio State. 7. Penn State. 8. Indiana. 9. Tennessee. 10. Notre Dame. 11. SMU. 12. Boise State.
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Ohio State. 6. Texas. 7. Indiana. 8. Tennessee. 9. Penn State. 10. Notre Dame. 11. Alabama. 12. Boise State.
Mark Schlabach: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Ohio State. 6. Texas. 7. Indiana. 8. Penn State. 9. Notre Dame. 10. Tennessee. 11. SMU. 12. Boise State.
Jake Trotter: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Ohio State. 6. Texas. 7. Indiana. 8. Penn State. 9. Notre Dame. 10. Tennessee. 11. Alabama. 12. Boise State.
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Ohio State. 6. Indiana. 7. Texas. 8. Penn State. 9. Notre Dame. 10. Tennessee. 11. SMU. 12. Boise State.
Dave Wilson: 1. Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Miami. 4. BYU. 5. Ohio State. 6. Texas. 7. Indiana. 8. Penn State. 9. Notre Dame. 10. Tennessee. 11. SMU. 12. Boise State.