2024 preseason 12-team College Football Playoff rankings prediction

The 2024 regular season is just a few weeks away and the Georgia Bulldogs will enter it with a target on their backs. Even after missing the College Football Playoff in the final year of the four-team era, Kirby Smart’s Dawgs enter the year as the national title favorites, ranked No. 1 in the AP and coaches poll. 

The landscape of college football and the SEC has changed. It’s not just the expansion to a 12-team playoff, but also the growth of the SEC to include Oklahoma and Texas. Yet, through it all, Georgia has remained on top, with Kirby Smart now reigning as the patriarch of the conference and the sport after Nick Saban’s retirement. 

However, it won’t be easy to stay on top. Georgia has a daunting schedule with road trips to Austin, Tuscaloosa, and Oxford. While an undefeated record is no longer a prerequisite for inclusion in the CFP, an SEC title would guarantee a top-four seed and a bye through the first round. 

The new CFP will guarantee bids for the five high-ranked conference champions and the top four spots and byes will go to the four highest-ranked conference champs, most likely from the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC.  

Here is my preseason prediction for how the 12-team CFP will shake out in 2024.

Georgia could have the most difficult schedule in the country, but Kirby Smart’s team is also the best in the country, so an undefeated regular season is absolutely in the cards. If Georgia pulls it off, with wins over Texas, Alabama, and Ole Miss, then it would be impossible not to rank the Dawgs as the No.1 seed.

Kirby Smart isn't the only reason to believe in Georgia this year. Smart, for the first time since taking over in Athens, has a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback in Carson Beck. With Beck and OC Mike Bobo this year's version of the Bulldogs may be led by the offense, not just a stellar defensive unit.