2024 CFB PLAYOFF TOP 25 RANKINGS WEEK 11 PREVIEW

10/30/2024

2024 CFB PLAYOFF RANKINGS

The College Football Now 2024 CFB Playoff rankings for week 10 gave us a glimpse of the direction the CFB Playoff committee could be heading, as we identify key match-ups in week 11 with major CFB Playoff rankings implications.

2024 CFP TOP 25 RANKINGS

The CFB Playoff committee will release the initial 2024 CFB top 25 rankings on Tuesday, November 5th and will be responsible for deciding the 12 teams that will compete for the CFP National Championship! We utilized the three major top 25 rankings nationally as well as the ESPN football power index to reflect the various opinions across the landscape of college football now and the week 10 CFB Now CFP top 25 rankings would have produced an epic 12 team playoff bracket!

2024 PRE CFP RANKINGS

WEEK 11 CFB PLAYOFF PREVIEW

There are many games of great significance to mention in our week 11 CFB playoff preview, but first I would like to congratulate coach K.C Keeler & the Sam Houston State Bearcats for moving to 7 & 2 and becoming Bowl eligible in their first season as an FBS football team. In short, Sam Houston State could a team in the coming years that will be in the race for the 12th seed coming out of the non-power four conference. Thus far in 2024, the Boise State Broncos are currently favorites to obtain the 12th seed (or possibly higher) with Heisman Trophy frontrunner Ashton Jeanty putting up unbelievable numbers & David O'Brien Award finalist Maddox Madsen has proven to be a clutch performer in key situations. The Broncos will face-off Friday night against a very talented San Diego State Aztecs team who gave 23rd ranked Washington State all they could handle last weekend in a devastating defeat. The Broncos will need to be heavily prepared for a team that simply let one slip away last weekend and is looking to move back to .500 on the season, as the Aztecs are still undefeated in Mountain West Conference play.

CFP TOP 25 MATCH-UPS

There are some pivotal CFP top 25 match-ups in week 11 and the biggest of the all will be played at Beaver Stadium, as the 3rd ranked Ohio State Buckeyes take on the 4th ranked Penn State Nittany Lions. On paper, the Ohio State Buckeyes roster is arguably the most talented we have ever encountered, but many in the industry are still awaiting the Buckeyes to bring their A game as it will be needed against an extremely stout Nittany Lions football team. Penn State has one top 25 victory on the season against the Illini and Ohio State's came at the hands of the number one ranked Oregon Ducks by a score of 32-31. Why does this matter? Well, because whoever picks up this win will boast a top 5 victory on their CFP top 25 resume, which bodes well for increasing the likelihood of making the 12 team CFP bracket. The game simply means a little more for Ohio State mathematically speaking as they have one loss on the season, but still have a highly ranked Indiana team on their schedule and the likes of Michigan, Northwestern & Purdue. If the Buckeyes can escape Happy Valley, they will be favorited to run the table and eventually get a re-match with the Ducks of Oregon in the Big Ten Championship for a chance to earn a first round buy in the 2024 CFB Playoff. On the contrary, if Penn State can get the win depends on whether or not Drew Allar will be int he starting lineup, but I would not count out York HS standout Beau Pribula as he brings a different dynamic as a scrambler to the Nittany Lions offense.

DUKE VS. #6 MIAMI

The Duke Blue Devils were on the cusp of cracking the CFB Now Top 25 rankings but fell to the 19th ranked SMU Mustangs, as Coach Sandlin still remains a recruiting mastermind. Thus, the Canes better be prepared for the likes of Scout Trout All-American Chandler Rivers, who is projected to go in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft by many in the NFL scouting industry and the outstanding defense they possess. Also, Malik Murphy has performed extremely well this season and is capable of competing with the likes of Cam Ward if the game turns into a high scoring ACC shoot-out. The Canes have not faced one top 25 ranked opponent all season long & most likely won't until the ACC championship game, but that doesn't exclude their capabilities to light up the scoreboard and win in close games. This should be the toughest test yet for the Hurricanes and one I have had marked on the schedule since the beginning of the season as a possibly upset.

#15 OLE MISS VS. ARKANSAS

The SEC could potentially eat itself alive given the new 12 team playoff format and all of it's intricacies, as many SEC programs are playing some of the toughest schedules ever witnessed. With that being said, the Ole Miss rebels are one of the most talented offensive team's nationally, but have yet to really flourish as we witnessed last season. The Arkansas Razorbacks are not a team to take lightly as they were able to topple the 7th ranked Tennessee Volunteers a few weeks ago, but stumbled against the 16th ranked mighty Tigers of LSU by a score of 34 to 10. The 9th ranked Aggies of Texas A&M beat the Razorbacks 21 to 17 in a very closely contested match-up and they lost their season opener against former top 25 ranked Oklahoma State. With that being said, the proof is in how closely contested two of Arkansas' losses were against very formidable opponents and we will have to see what Razorbacks team shows up on Saturday to compete against the Rebels of Ole Miss at Razorback Stadium! I believe this SEC clash of titans is going to be a barnburner as Rebels fans expect nothing less than a bid to the 12 team CFB playoff or the season is a bust!

CFB PLAYOFF TOP 25 RANKINGS

The Army Black Knight's find themselves in the CFB Playoff top 25 rankings and are 7 & 0 after scoring more than 40 points in four of those contests, which is the first time since the 1945 National Championship season. With that being said, Army's schedule thus far has been one of the weakest nationally, but if they can handle business against their rivals from Air Force, the Black Knight's will face-off against a very talented North Texas team as well as Notre Dame & Navy. If Army can upset the Fighting-Irish and bring home the AAC championship, they will be hard to pass up as the 12th seeded team for the 12 team CFB Playoff bracket in 2024! If Navy is to beat Army, we could potentially see a re-match in the AAC championship game, which would be an epic way to kickoff the 2024-2025 CFB Bowl game season!

2024-2025 CFB BOWL GAME SCHEDULE

#1 OREGON VS. MICHIGAN

After a magical season, the Michigan Wolverines look to be in a rebuilding process as they struggle to find a new identity after the departure of legendary Coach Jim Harbaugh and will play what has become "the greatest show on CFB turf" in 2024. 2024 Heisman frontrunner Dillon Gabriel has not disappointed and Coach Dan Lanning has the Ducks defense looking like a highly trained SEC caliber defense of year's past. Oregon does not have any ranked opponents on the schedule the remainder of the season, but the Michigan & Wisconsin game's standout as potential hiccups in their path to the number one seed in the 2024 CFB Playoff. They will still have to contend with either Ohio State, Penn State or Indiana for the Big 10 championship, but so far, nothing appears to formidable enough to slow down the Ducks highly potent offensive attack. If the Ducks can continue to weaponize their offense further with the electrifying Jordan James toting the rock and Gabriel slinging darts, as well as continue to hold their opponents to less than 20 points per game. They will be hard to beat in Big Ten conference play and will garner the first round buy as the Big 10 conference champions, unless Penn State, Indiana or Ohio State have their say in the matter.

GEORGIA VS. FLORIDA

If there was ever a game Coach Billy Napier needed to add to his resume it's this week's match-up against the 2nd ranked Georgia Bulldogs. There have been rumors swirling around Gainesville that the Condron family has written the check for the dismissal of Coach Napier to fulfil the contractual buy-out clause in his contract. These rumors of course come from disgruntled fans & alumni, who are still living in the Coach Spurrier & Urban Meyer days as I believe the Gators are starting to turn the corner as a program. The Gators took the 7th ranked Vols into overtime a few weeks back and were able to dismantle a very talented Kentucky team that took Georgia down to the wire. Their other losses came at the hands of 9th ranked Texas A&M and 6th ranked Miami Hurricanes, which makes three losses to top 10 ranked opponents. It appeared early on in the season that the Gators were one of those teams in the SEC that would be eaten alive because of their rigorous schedule, but they have remained extremely competitive and are simply due for a big victory. They will face the perennial powerhouse Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, which could completely turn their season around and quiet the Gator faithful's urge to move on from Coach Napier.

TEXAS TECH VS. #13 IOWA STATE

The Iowa State Cyclones are undefeated thus far on the season and will be tested this week against a very talented Red-Raiders team, who has been on the brink of cranking the CFB Now Top 25 all season long. The Cyclones are coming off some close victories against UCF & West Virginia and the Red-Raiders sit at 5 & 3 with key victories against Arizona State and Cincinnati. The Red-Raiders suffered a loss to top 25 opponent Washington State and the Cyclones have yet to play a top 25 opponent on the 2024 season. Their biggest win of the season came against their in-state rivals as they defeated the Hawkeyes 20 to 19 earlier in the season, which is why the committee will be looking for more convincing wins if they are not able to bring home the BIG 12 championship. As of now, the Iowa State Cyclones only have one remaining top 25 opponent on their schedule as they will face-off on November 30th against an extremely talented Kansas State football team. In my opinion, the remainder of the Cyclones games are must wins in order to secure a CFP 12 team playoff bid, even if they were to suffer defeat in the Big 12 championship.

10 INDIANA VS. MICHIGAN STATE

Indiana now has the 6th ranked defense and the 6th ranked offense nationally as they have cruised through the 2024 season unscathed at 8 & 0 and have done so in impressive fashion. Although they have to travel to Lansing to face off against a formidable Michigan State team, I do not see them in a closely contested match-up until possibly Michigan or Ohio State, as that game against the Buckeyes could be for all the CFB Playoff marbles, whether they win or lose the Big 10 championship game if the Buckeyes reign victorious over Penn State tomorrow in Happy Valley. Which is highly ironic, as this week's hypothetical week 10 CFP match-ups would feature Indiana at Penn State in round one of the 2024-2025 CFB Playoff 12 team format!

17 KANSAS STATE VS. HOUSTON

Kansas State QB Avery Johnson has been able to lead the Wildcats to a 7 & 1 record with their only loss coming to 14th ranked BYU and also boast a top 25 victory over the Colorado Buffaloes. They also beat a could-be top 25 opponent in the Tulane Green Wave and boast one of the best defenses nationally. On the flip side, the Cougars have had a dreadful season thus far, but have been somewhat competitive and are looking for a major upset against the CFB Now CFP Top 25 ranked Kansas State Wildcats, who struggled to close out their in-state rivals last week as they defeated the 2 & 6 Jayhawks by a score of 29 to 27.

#9 TEXAS A&M VS. SOUTH CAROLINA

Even though South Carolina is unranked, I do believe they could very well finish the season as a top 25 team at CFB Now, as players like Scout Trout All-American Jalon Kilgore have proven to be next level caliber talent. According to many NFL scouts, Kilgore will be coming off the board quickly in whatever draft class he chooses, as he exudes all of the attributes of what could potentially be the next Ed Reed prototype in the NFL. Texas A&M sits in first place in the SEC right now and their only loss came in the first week of the season to the 8th ranked Fighting-Irish of Notre Dame, which bodes well for their CFP 12 team playoff bid as they boast wins over Missouri and top 16th ranked LSU. If they can pull out a win at South Carolina, against a team who lost to LSU by 3 & Bama by 2 and beat or play it close with Texas, I believe they could potentially receive a bid from the committee based on strength of schedule and wins over quality opponents.

2024-2025 BOWL GAME SCHEDULE

Check out the official 2024-2025 bowl game schedule at College Football Now by clicking the 2023-2024 CFB Bowl game schedule graphic below!

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