Predicting 2024’s playoff, bowl groups from expanded league

Previous to a Week 8 sport at Florida this season, Kentucky leaves the pleasant confines of Kroger Discipline solely as soon as. That is 5 dwelling video games and a date with Ole Miss in Oxford over the primary half of the slate. The issue right here is top-ranked Georgia coming to Lexington in Week 3, primarily an unwinnable sport when evaluating roster expertise. And after Florida, contests with Auburn, Tennessee and Texas await amongst others. There is a path to seven wins for the Wildcats in the event that they’re capable of beat South Carolina of their SEC dwelling opener on Sept. 7.

Will South Carolina get to bowl eligibility and erase the remnants of final season’s slide? That is the plan for Shane Beamer in his fourth season in an try to recapture a few of 2022’s magic when the Gamecocks beat a pair ranked groups down the stretch to play within the Gator Bowl. Six wins in opposition to a significantly tough schedule could be a mini-win for Beamer and a scorching begin in September is important towards that trigger with the SEC opener at Kentucky in Week 2, adopted by a house showdown with LSU.

Can Billy Napier shock everybody with a .500 end in opposition to faculty soccer’s hardest schedule — perhaps ever — to safe a bowl berth? He’ll need to pile up as many wins as potential early on given the brutality of the ultimate 5 weeks of the slate: Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss and Florida State. That’s assassin’s row within the SEC adopted up with a rivalry finale in opposition to the preseason ACC favorites. Florida is a group we’re shopping for low on with these up to date bowl projections.

Prepared for fireworks out West? This matchup between a pair borderline high 25 groups would certainly convey the products if it occurs. Quarterback Noah Fifita is again for the Wildcats as they enter the Large 12 below first-year coach Brent Brennan whereas one other new period commences in School Station with Mike Elko taking up. This Aggies roster is portal-heavy, which is what Elko envisioned when he took the job and had a number of positions of curiosity that noticed a expertise depletion as a result of departures.

Are you able to think about what Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels may do in Hugh Freeze’s offense? The excellent news for the Jayhawks is that he is again at full energy after nursing a again harm all through the 2023 marketing campaign. In the meantime, the Tigers have optimism at quarterback with Payton Thorne returning, who Freeze hopes takes the following step in his growth and returns to near-Michigan State type and never what Auburn noticed final season. The Texas Bowl is performed in Houston and this might be Auburn’s first look.

Oklahoma followers anticipate Brent Venables to win a bowl sport for the primary time this season so long as the Sooners can get to 6 wins in opposition to one of many SEC’s hardest slates. That is the pessimistic outlook for a proficient group coming into its first season in faculty soccer’s best league. The opposite group right here in Nashville? Defending Pac-12 champion Washington, which is now within the Large Ten with Jedd Fisch as coach. The Huskies ought to see a steep decline, at the least in 2024, from final season’s rise nationally, maybe to the eight-win mark.

May two 10-win groups fail to succeed in the playoff this season? Anticipate a bunch of arguing from the Tigers and Wolverines if that is the case in what we anticipate to be a SEC- and Large Ten-dominated discipline. We’re anticipating the Citrus Bowl to get first dibs on the elites exterior of that high 12. Michigan is coming off an ideal season and nationwide championship, however has to play Texas early earlier than one other gauntlet of a schedule. And regardless of holding the nation’s longest profitable streak coming into August, this new-look roster in Ann Arbor replaces a number of high-end draft picks. By comparability, Missouri has it a lot simpler relative to most different SEC and Large Ten slates. 

There’s undoubtedly going to be an elite SEC group — or a number of — miss out on the playoff just because there’s not sufficient spots but for a single league-dominated postseason, however it’s coming. Brian Kelly overhauled his defensive workers after final yr’s disappointment on that aspect, however personnel questions stay. On this Gator Bowl state of affairs, the Tigers are taking a look at 9 wins, which will not be sufficient to succeed in the expanded playoff. NC State can be a real contender within the ACC and will get Tennessee early.

One other highly effective SEC group simply exterior of the playoff image, at the least proper now, the Vols may very well be heading again to Central Florida for the postseason. Tennessee final performed in Tampa on the finish of the 2015 season and will play a Large Ten elite as soon as once more to finish the marketing campaign. If the Vols go 4-0 on September, this projection pushes towards a playoff look. In addition to, are there any Vols followers on the market who wish to play Iowa and that offense once more?

Again in a significant sport for the second-straight yr below Jamey Chadwell, this time, Liberty ought to get to the playoff because the Group of 5’s unbeaten consultant. The schedule is out of a bakery store, so if there’s one other Group of 5 group with higher wins saddled with a single loss, maybe they get the nod. As for Texas, a projected second-place end within the SEC on this spot places the Longhorns with the No. 5 seed and a first-round dwelling sport with a assured sellout coming.

Two shock picks within the playoff are available Oxford — Miami in opposition to Ole Miss — for the primary spherical’s most appetizing projected matchup. Each of those proficient groups are portal-laden with an infrastructure in place to win huge within the ACC and SEC, respectively. Nevertheless, for now, each are paper champions. The Rebels have proven sizable success below Lane Kiffin, however have not appeared within the SEC Championship Recreation but throughout his tenure and the Hurricanes are merely attempting to satisfy expectations. Miami is the primary of two projected ACC groups within the playoff discipline.

The primary of 4 SEC groups we’re projecting to succeed in the playoff, Kalen DeBoer’s 12 months 1 could be a raging success if the Crimson Tide get again to the event. This time round, profitable a first-round street sport at Penn State in December can be a substantial problem. With Jalen Milroe returning, a number of portal additions anticipated to assist and a top-end signing class with a pair immediate-impact freshmen, an Alabama slide this fall could be two regular-season losses. And 10-2 for the Crimson Tide, with this schedule, must be sufficient to garner love from the choice committee.

One among a couple SEC regular-season rematches we may see this fall because of playoff growth, the second sport is significantly extra vital for the Bulldogs and Rebels with the winner shifting on to the ultimate 4. Nevertheless, Ole Miss-Georgia in Pasadena does not really feel proper with two SEC powers going out West. Nobody’s going to complain on both aspect and Georgia’s earlier journey to Los Angeles is a fond reminiscence for Bulldogs followers after beating Oklahoma, however this one’s totally different.

Alabama will get previous its first-round problem in opposition to the Nittany Lions solely to face potential top-seeded Ohio State, our projected Large Ten champion, subsequent. Alabama is acquainted with postseason video games in New Orleans. Actually, previous to dismantling the Buckeyes within the 2020 nationwide championship, the Crimson Tide misplaced to Ohio State within the Sugar Bowl in the course of the 2014 playoff. If we get this matchup a number of months from now, one of many pre-game storylines can be Caleb Downs and Julian Sayin — two Alabama transfers — going through their former group.

Can the Longhorns get again to the ultimate 4 to cap their first season within the SEC? It is potential. No disrespect to the Seminoles, our projected ACC champion, however battling this roster can be their hardest job of the season if we get to that time. Texas has a Herculean two-deep when it comes to expertise, whereas Florida State as soon as once more largely rebuilt its lineup by means of faculty soccer’s model of free company. Surprisingly, these two bluebloods have by no means met on the gridiron.