College Football Playoff 2024: Boise State, Liberty among teams poised for run at Group of Five automatic bid

The College Football Playoff will debut its 12-team format in the 2024 season, providing greater opportunity and access for teams to have a more meaningful postseason. No one benefits more from the change than the Group Five conferences, which now have an automatic bid into the playoff after years of largely being cast aside. 

In the CFP’s almost decade of existence, Cincinnati is the only Group Five program to ever make the four-team field — and it now competes in the Big 12. Not that the Group Five has lacked contenders; an undefeated UCF was notoriously barred from entry in 2017, and several other teams from non-power conferences have climbed inside the top 10 of various polls. 

Now, thanks to the recent 5+7 model approved by the College Football Playoff Management Committee, the Group Five is guaranteed at least one of the five automatic bids. It is still just one spot for five conferences, but it’s more representation at a high level than most of those leagues are used to, plus Group Five teams could also compete for one of the seven at-large spots. 

But with effectively one automatic bid up for grabs, which of the 70-plus schools occupying the Group Five are in the best spot to make a CFP run? Here are a few candidates that stick out from the rest.

Group of Five teams poised to make 2024 CFP run

Boise State: There’s reason to believe in first-year coach Spencer Danielson. The 35-year-old took over as interim in 2023 after Andy Avalos’ midseason firing. Danielson guided the Broncos to two straight wins to close the regular season as they secured a spot in the Mountain West Championship Game where they defeated UNLV by 24 points to win their first conference title in four years. Danielson had the interim tag removed one day…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/college-football-playoff-2024-boise-state-liberty-among-teams-poised-for-run-at-group-of-five-automatic-bid/

Author : Will Backus

Publish date : 2024-02-29 15:44:48

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