On Tuesday night, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee revealed the latest CFP rankings ahead of Week 11. Frankly, there wasn't a lot that changed in regards to the top contenders to make it into the Top 4 of the Playoff.
Some believed that Ohio State, who came in at No. 1 in the initial rankings, might get jumped by No. 2 Georgia. Alas, that was not the case, even after the Dawgs' win over Missouri. The Top 4 remained the same, so did the Top 8, though Oklahoma's loss to Oklahoma State dropped them outside of the Top 15 after being No. 9 previously.
Having said that, fans are certainly looking ahead (and perhaps dreaming) about the forthcoming 12-team College Football Playoff. And it's always fun to see what this year's Playoff would look like if we had the 12-team format in 2023. So let's take a look at how the bracket would shake out after seeing the Week 11 CFP rankings.
CFP rankings, Week 11: What a 12-team College Football Playoff bracket would look like
12-team College Football Playoff bracket: Top 4 Seeds
- Ohio State Buckeyes (Projected Big Ten Champion)
- Georgia Bulldogs (Projected SEC Champion)
- Florida State Seminoles (Projected ACC Champion)
- Washington Huskies (Projected Pac-12 Champion)
If you'll recall, the format for the 12-team College Football Playoff will have different criteria for the berths awarded, namely the six highest-ranked conference champions and six at-large bids getting in. The Top 4 seeds will get a bye in the first round of the Playoff and will be awarded to the four highest-ranked conference champions, which pushes Michigan, No. 3 in the Week 11 CFP rankings, out of the Top 4 seeds.
12-team College Football Playoff bracket: First Round
- 9 Ole Miss Rebels at 8 Alabama Crimson Tide
- 12 Tulane Green Wave (Projected AAC Champion) at 5 Michigan Wolverines
- 10 Penn State Nittany Lions at 7 Texas Longhorns (Projected Big 12 Champion)
- 11 Louisville Cardinals at 6 Oregon Ducks
After the Top 4 seeds in the 12-team format that we're looking at, it is almost entirely based on the rankings that the Selection Committee decides on. The one exception would be Tulane, the sixth-highest-ranked projected conference champion, getting the final No. 12 seed in the Playoff with the Green Wave actually being No. 22 in the latest CFP rankings.
12-team College Football Playoff bracket: Quarterfinals
- Cotton Bowl: Ole Miss/Alabama winner vs. 1 Ohio State
- Fiesta Bowl: Tulane/Michigan winner vs. 4 Washington
- Peach Bowl: Penn State/Texas winner vs. 2 Georgia
- Orange Bowl: Louisville/Oregon winner vs. 3 Florida State
The 12-teams playoff format would lead us to our first-ever quarterfinal matchups with the Top 4 seeds being the home team at four of the New Year's Six bowl games against the winners of the First Round matchups. The winners of the quarterfinal games would then advance to the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl for the semifinals.