Arizona: 2024 post week 2 12-team College Football Playoff rankings prediction
College Football Playoff projections were altered on Saturday when Northern Illinois upset Notre Dame and Texas crushed Michigan. The victory by Northern Illinois likely means Notre Dame has to win out for a CFP berth. Michigan was inept offensively and seems unlikely to make the CFP in an attempt to defend its National Championship.
Utah is the only Big XII team trending for a CFP berth. Arizona will have an opportunity to gain its way into the discussion games upcoming at Kansas State on Friday night and at Utah on September 28. If Arizona can at least split those games, they could be viewed as the front-runner in the Big XII.
Kansas State is not a Big XII conference game. The pair of Wildcats scheduled their game before Arizona joined the Big XII ahead of this season. Arizona remained 20th in the Associated Press Top 25 and 18th in the USA Today Coaches Poll after its 22-10 win over Northern Arizona on Saturday.
The Wildcats dropped 16 spots to 39th in the ESPN Football Power Index after beating NAU. Arizona is 59th in the NCAA College Football Predictive Rankings & Ratings. This two-game stretch is critical for how well Arizona's season can be in 2024. Kansas State and Utah in consecutive games is the toughest part of the schedule.
Rank | Team | Record | Conference |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Texas | 2-0 | SEC leader |
2 | Ohio State | 2-0 | Big 10 leader |
3 | Miami | 2-0 | ACC leader |
4 | Utah | 2-0 | Big XII leader |
5 | Georgia | 2-0 | SEC |
6 | Alabama | 2-0 | SEC |
7 | Mississippi | 2-0 | SEC |
8 | Penn State | 2-0 | Big 10 |
9 | Missouri | 2-0 | SEC |
10 | USC | 2-0 | Big 10 |
11 | Oregon | 2-0 | Big 10 |
12 | Tulane | 2-0 | AAC/G5 leader |
One through 10 is pretty straight forward. From Texas to USC, those 10 are securely in the CFP through two weeks. The final at-large and top group of five representative were a bit more difficult to select. Oregon received the final at-large selection because of schedule and Tulane because of its metrics.
Louisville and Notre Dame were the other two candidates for the final at-large berth. Oregon ultimately edged Louisville because of their win over Boise State. Louisville has blown out Austin Peay and Jacksonville State. Boise State is a candidate this season for the Group of Five berth. That win should hold up well for Oregon.
Tulane is 46th in the FPI and 36th in the Team Rankings metrics. Northern Illinois is 74th in the FPI and 64th on Team Rankings. The Northern Illinois win over Notre Dame could hold up as the best by a Group of Five team this season. Tulane is 1-1 after a controversial loss at Kansas State but has a tougher schedule than NIU.
Northern Illinois plays at North Carolina State on September 28. That will be a huge gauge of how significant their upset was at Notre Dame concerning a CFP push. Tulane plays at Oklahoma on Saturday in a must-win game for their CFP chances. If they lose that, even winning the American might not be enough for a CFP berth.
Next. Where Arizona fits in 2024 Week 1 12-team CFP rankings prediction. Where Arizona fits in 2024 Week 1 12-team CFP rankings prediction. dark
With the power conferences being dwindled to four, the top teams should either separate themselves, start to eliminate each other, or potentially both. The 12-team playoff will keep more teams in the discussion for a national championship through the end of the regular season.