Find a way.
It ain’t over. The play is not dead, and there is still time left on the game clock.
In a 24-team College Football Playoff, in mid-October, all you have to do is find a way.
Fight your way back.
In August, the Big Ten and others began “populating” the idea of an expanded College Football Playoff of 24 or 28 teams. The 24-team model, which seems to have the most support in private circles, would include:
Four automatic qualifiers from each of the Power 4 conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC)Two automatic qualifiers from the Group of 6 (American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West, Sun Belt and Pac-12)Six at-large selections to be made by the College Football Playoff selection committee — the only selections the committee gets to make
Which begs the question: How would the 24-team CFP look if the tournament began today?
In my analysis of a 24-team format, a whopping 45 Power 4 programs — including 10 from the SEC, 12 from the Big Ten, eight from the Big 12, and seven from the ACC — would still have a path to the postseason. And that’s before factoring in Notre Dame or the Group of 6 contenders.
Nine weeks into the season, teams that have proven themselves in conference play still have just as much opportunity to win it all as No. 1 Ohio State. That’s a huge win for the sport. It creates a more democratic system for determining the best team, with less debate and more certainty.
The scoreboard has more agency.
And fans have the best chance in the sport’s history to see their team play for — and win — a national title.
Because you — and damn near half the sport — still have a chance to take it all.
You’ve still got a shot at becoming legendary. And we’ll all bear witness to that run in the most raucous, vibrant atmosphere this side of the cosmos — starting exactly where it should: on a college campus, near a student union, with students packed into their section. At home.
If that ain’t divine, I don’t want to know.
This 24-team format features 18 automatic qualifiers
I’ve set it up to look like what you’ll read below and stand in to represent the College Football Playoff selection committee.
The top four teams from each of the Power 4 conferences automatically qualify for the CFP. The two highest-ranked Group of 6 teams — not necessarily conference champions — also receive automatic bids. The remaining six at-large spots are filled at the selection committee’s discretion.
Teams are seeded by the selection committee
As the personification of the selection committee, I am encouraged to take into account head-to-head matchups, strength of record, coaching, personnel and quality of out-of-conference play when seeding teams.
Winning a conference championship is a strong indicator for a top-seeded team.
Winning a conference title does not automatically qualify a team for a higher seed than a non-conference champion.
The 24-team playoff’s greatest strength is the addition of two rounds of home games
My top 25, which you can read here, is the basis on which these seedings are assigned.
The first two rounds of a 24-team playoff would feature two rounds of home games. The four teams that advance through the opening rounds will play their next game at a New Year’s Six Bowl in a neutral site semifinal.
Teams seeded No. 1 to No. 8 get a bye and a home playoff game. Teams seeded No. 9 to No. 16 each open the tournament with a home playoff game. Teams seeded No. 17 to No. 24 each must play on the road twice to advance to the neutral site quarterfinals.
I need to summarize this, because it’s the best aspect of the 24-team CFP: 16 different campuses host home playoff games.
The 110,000 who turn Ohio Stadium into a haunted house for opponents when the Buckeyes take the field.
The 92,000 at Sanford Stadium, where them Dawgs is hell.
The 103,000 who bring the 12th Man to life at Kyle Field.
They matter now more than ever.
That is what’s created here, and this is how it looks:
The Week 9 24-team CFP bracket
ELITE TIER
1. Ohio State (7-0)
Ohio State is allowing just 5.9 points per game through seven games — not only the lowest average in the FBS, but also the fewest the Buckeyes have allowed at this point in a season since 1973.
2. Indiana (7-0)
Indiana is the only team in the FBS with two wins over AP top-10 opponents — and they rank top four nationally in point differential (226), points per game (43.9), points allowed per game (11.6), and sacks (26).
3. Texas A&M (7-0)
Texas A&M is the only FBS team to have recorded four games with 40-plus points while remaining undefeated.
4. Alabama (6-1)
Alabama has recorded four consecutive wins against ranked SEC opponents — a feat that has only happened twice in the history of the AP poll, including Alabama’s 2016 team.
5. Oregon (6-1)
No Power 4 team is scoring more points than Oregon, which averages 44.1 per game. Oregon is also one of only three FBS teams to average over 40 points per game while allowing fewer than 15 (alongside Indiana and Texas Tech).
6. Georgia (6-1)
Since 2021, Georgia is 59-6 — the highest winning percentage of any team in that span — and won back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. During the same period, Georgia is 13-4 against AP top 10 teams and 22-6 against top 25 teams—both the highest winning percentages in the FBS.
7. Ole Miss (6-1)
Ole Miss ranks in the top 10 among Power 4 teams in yards per game (491.9) and big plays (74)— and ranks in the top five of Power 4 teams in scrimmage plays of 25-plus yards, 30-plus yards, 40-plus yards, and 50-plus yards.
(Big plays: rushes of 10-plus yards and receptions of 20-plus yards.)
8. Vanderbilt (6-1, at-large)
Vanderbilt has beaten two AP top-15 teams in the same season for the first time and has also recorded wins against AP top-10 opponents in back-to-back seasons for the first time.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
9. Tennessee (5-2, at-large)
Losses to Alabama and Georgia might turn out to be losses to two teams who will play for the SEC Championship. The Vols lack a top-25 victory but might have a chance to get two in the next five games with Oklahoma and Vanderbilt left on the schedule.
10. BYU (7-0)
The Cougars are the only remaining undefeated team in the Big 12 and have the clearest path to the CFP of any team in that league. BYU looks like a team that could compete in the 24-team CFP with a scoring defense ranked 19th nationally, giving up just 18.2 points per game.
11. Georgia Tech (7-0)
The highest-ranked ACC team is also the last undefeated team in the conference, and the only ranked opponent left on the Yellow Jackets’ schedule is their traditional out-of-conference rival, Georgia. Given the way the season has played out, it’s possible Georgia Tech ends the regular season with 11 wins against teams that won’t finish in the top 25 when the postseason begins.
12. Missouri (6-1, at-large)
Missouri’s only loss is to Alabama, which has a claim to being the best team in the SEC. The Tigers boast the nation’s No. 2 total defense, allowing just 243 yards per game. They feature one of the nation’s best tailbacks in Ahmad Hardy and have a chance to add a top-10 win to their resume against Vanderbilt this weekend.
13. Oklahoma (6-1, at-large)
The Sooners own the SEC’s best scoring defense (9.4 points per game) and total defense (213 yards allowed per game). Their game against Ole Miss begins a run of five consecutive opponents who are all ranked in the top 25, giving Oklahoma one of the strongest strength of schedule arguments in the sport.
14. Louisville (6-1)
The Cardinals’ win on the road at then-No. 2 Miami is the best win of any team in the ACC, and their only loss is to a top-25 opponent who needed double-overtime to defeat them (Virginia).
15. Miami (6-1)
The Hurricanes took a home loss to an unranked opponent while ranked No. 2 in the country — but fortunately for them, Louisville is a one-loss team that has proven formidable. If Miami avoids another slip-up against an unranked team, they’ll finish the regular season 11–1, with no ranked opponents remaining after Week 8. The concern? Their best wins might end up being against South Florida and SMU — not exactly elite competition.
16. Notre Dame (5-2, at-large)
The Fighting Irish’s résumé took a hit when Louisville walked into Hard Rock Stadium and beat a Miami team that Notre Dame couldn’t — in the same venue. But their loss to Texas A&M doesn’t look as bad now, with the Aggies off to a 7–0 start for the first time since 1994. Notre Dame’s best win came last week against a then-ranked USC team, and it could face an undefeated Navy in three weeks. That, along with a 10-win regular season, might be enough for the Irish to slide into an at-large spot.
THE ROAD
17. South Florida (6-1)
at Notre Dame
The Bulls are the only ranked team in the top 25 representing a G6 conference, and they’re 6-1 for the first time since 2018. This week, they have an enormous game against 6-1 Memphis for what could be one of the two G6 spots in this format. It’s the rare game between two G6 teams in the regular season that could have large implications for the postseason.
18 Texas Tech (6-1)
at Miami
The Red Raiders were one of five undefeated teams to suffer a loss during Week 8, but they still have a road to the Big 12 title game and the CFP. Joey McGuire’s team is on a collision course with 7-0 BYU in Week 11. Their top-25 win against Utah remains its signature win so far, though.
19. Illinois (5-2)
at Louisville
Illinois has the dubious honor of suffering losses to the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country heading into Week 9. While its 18-point defeat to Ohio State at home doesn’t look good, it’s 53-point defeat to Indiana looks catastrophic — unless the Buckeyes and Hoosiers finish the season undefeated and the Fighting Illini can win every game left on its schedule. Both of those goals are within reach for Bret Bielema’s team.
20. Cincinnati (6-1)
at Oklahoma
Cincinnati could become the first team to reach the CFP as a G6 and P4 program if it continues its present trajectory. The Bearcats have not lost a single Big 12 game and will have an opportunity to show they’re the best team in the league before the postseason with remaining matchups against Utah and BYU.
21. Arizona State (5-2)
at Missouri
With Sam Leavitt at QB, the Sun Devils are 17-4 dating back to last season. Their losses in 2025 include Mississippi State and a Utah team that beat ASU without Leavitt at QB. But their top-10 win against previously undefeated Texas Tech does a lot of work to boost the Sun Devils’ résumé.
22 Virginia (6-1)
at Georgia Tech
The Cavaliers are banking on transitive wins and a relatively soft path to end the season. Their best victory is over Louisville — the team that took down the Week 9 No. 2 — and they don’t face another ranked opponent the rest of the way. That means UVA wouldn’t have to see Georgia Tech or Miami until the postseason.
23. Texas (5-2, at-large)
at BYU
No one has played the Buckeyes closer this season than the Longhorns, who, despite two losses, managed to knock off a then-undefeated and top 10 Oklahoma team. With three games left against top 10 opponents — Vanderbilt, Georgia and Texas A&M — it’s conceivable that a 10-win Texas team with four wins over top-10 opponents earns an at-large selection.
24 Navy (6-0)
at Tennessee
The Midshipmen are the last undefeated team in the Group of 6 conferences and could see themselves all but solidify their AQ spot with wins over Notre Dame in Week 11, USF in Week 12 and Memphis in Week 14.
Above is how the CFP would look if it ended today, but there will be changes and teams not included in the bracket that still have chances to earn entry into the tournament — as many as 21 in fact.
From Michigan to Memphis, USC to UNLV, Nebraska to Northwestern, Washington to James Madison.
Teams on the bubble have taken on losses, but not enough losses for them not to crawl into the top quarter of their conference, and, with 10 or even just nine wins in the regular season, could find themselves into an automatic qualifier spot.
Every game matters. Rivalry games matter more.
No one in Columbus, Ohio, needs to be reminded that the Buckeyes haven’t won “The Game” since 2019, and a win for a Michigan team who has won eight games heading into “The Game” this season could almost certainly mean the Wolverines would be in the CFP.
Texas A&M, which hasn’t won a conference title this century or a national title since 1939, will have to stare down their arch nemesis, Texas, with what could be a spot in the SEC Championship on the line for the Aggies, and a spot in the CFP for the Longhorns.
Good, Old-Fashioned Hate. The rivalry between Georgia Tech and Georgia this year makes it conceivable that a loss to the Yellow Jackets could see the Dawgs left out of the playoff for the first time in three years.
Minnesota might have to leave no doubt with a win against Wisconsin in the longest-running rivalry in the sport’s history to secure not just a 10-win season, but a spot in the CFP to go alongside the Paul Bunyan Axe.
The 24-team CFP takes on the best aspects of the November rivalry: home and away games played on campuses across the country where atmosphere, emotion and pageantry are unmatched.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him @RJ_Young.
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