CFB insider unveils his projected college football playoff 12-team field for 2024 season

College football insider Andy Staples shared his projected 12-team college football playoff field. Staples had some surprises including one team who made the playoffs last year not making the 12-team playoff.

Staples posted his 12-team playoff field on Tuesday and he has the Ohio State Buckeyes as his No. 1 seed. In his field, he has the Georgia Bulldogs, Florida State Seminoles and Kansas State Wildcats as his top-four seeds.

Staples' 12-team making the playoffs and the seeds they would be are:

1. Ohio State (Big Ten champ)
2. Georgia (SEC champ)
3. Florida State (ACC champ)
4. Kansas State (Big 12 champ)
5. Alabama (At-large)
6. Oregon (At-large)
7. Texas (At-large)
8. Michigan (At-large)
9. Notre Dame (At-large)
10. Ole Miss (At-large)
11. Tennessee (At-large)
12. Boise State (Mountain West champ)

With those being the 12 teams, the matchups that Staples has would be as follows:

No. 12. Boise State at No. 5. Alabama

No. 11 Tennessee at No. 6 Oregon

No. 10 Ole Miss at No. 7 Texas

No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Michigan

Out of those matchups, there is no question Notre Dame vs. Michigan would be the marquee game between two historic programs.

Some other notable teams making the playoff in Staples mock playoff is the Tennessee Volunteers who he has as his 11th seed.

But, a notable team not making the playoffs is the Washington Huskies who made it to the national championship game. While the reigning champions, the Michigan Wolverines, were seeded eighth by Staples.

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What is the format for the college football playoff?

College football will have a new playoff format for 2024, as the field has expanded from four to 12 teams.

As per the new format, the four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one to four and each will receive a first-round bye. The teams seeded five to 12 will play each other in the first round on the home field of the higher-ranked team.

The quarterfinals and semifinals will then be at neutral sites and will be played at one of six bowls being the Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach, Rose, and Sugar.

The full 2024-25 college football playoff schedule is as follows:

• First round (On-Campus)
• Friday, Dec. 20, 2024: One game (evening)
• Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024: Three games (early afternoon, late afternoon and evening)
• Quarterfinals
• Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (evening)
• Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl Game (late afternoon) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (evening)
• Semifinals
• Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025: Capital One Orange Bowl (evening)
• Friday, Jan. 10, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (evening)
• CFP National Championship
• Monday, Jan. 20, 2025: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia