The College Football Playoff committee will make its final decisions on Saturday, determining the fate of teams like Texas and SMU after their thrilling playoff bids ended in losses.
Texas (11-2) fell short against Georgia 22-19 in the SEC Championship, ending its hopes for a top-four seed and first-round bye. Despite this, the Longhorns remain in play for an at-large bid.
SMU (11-2), which came back from a 17-point deficit to tie Clemson’s ACC Championship game with 16 seconds left, will wait until Saturday’s selection show to find out if its late surge was enough to secure a spot.
Columnists and writers from The Dallas Morning News share their predictions for the top 12 teams in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Predictions:
* Oregon (1)
* Georgia (2)
* Boise State (3)
* Arizona State (4)
* Notre Dame (5)
* Texas (6)
* Penn State (7)
* Ohio State (8)
* Tennessee (9)
* Clemson (10)
* SMU (11)
* Indiana (12)
Picks from the columnists:
– Lia Assimakopoulos: If SMU doesn’t get in, it’s a travesty.
– Tim Cowlishaw: If Clemson wins on its final play, it deserves the No. 11 spot.
– Evan Grant: Chaos brings order; every conference champ gets a bye or home game.
– Shawn McFarland: Saturday chaos; Big 12 and MWC share first-round byes, deserving teams included Ashton Jeanty and Cam Skattebo.
– Kevin Sherrington: Neither Texas nor SMU should drop far in walk-off losses; consider SWC revival for the playoffs.
Source: https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/texas-longhorns/2024/12/08/college-football-playoff-bracket-predictions-where-will-texas-smu-land