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The first 12-team College Football Playoff is right around the corner. First-round games are set to begin on Friday, Dec. 20, getting the ball rolling on a process that will, beyond a shadow of a doubt, decide the top team in the sport.
Not all paths to the national championship are created equal. The four highest-ranked conference champions — this year, No. 1 seed Oregon, No. 2 seed Georgia, No. 3 seed Boise State and No. 4 seed Arizona State — all receive first-round byes. That means they will get an extra week of rest and an extra week of relatively stress-free practice to prepare for the quarterfinals.
By comparison, teams that didn’t earn a bye would have to win four straight games in the span of around a month to take home the national title. For seeds 5-8, that burden is alleviated a bit by the fact that they get to play their first playoff game at home.
That means things are especially difficult for the last three at-large teams to make it in and the one conference champion that didn’t rank quite high enough to skip the first round.
With an increased amount of games to consider, it felt appropriate to rank each playoff team’s path from easiest to most difficult. Every potential matchup, all the way down to the College Football Playoff National Championship, was considered when deciding the hierarchy.
First game: At home vs. No. 11 seed SMU
Penn State has already announced that its first-ever College Football Playoff game will be a “White Out,” which means the Nittany Lions have an inherent…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/ranking-each-teams-college-football-playoff-path-penn-state-has-smooth-sailing-tennessee-faces-tough-road/
Author : Will Backus
Publish date : 2024-12-10 18:39:00
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