Tag: 2024 College Football Playoffs

How to watch CFP rankings for Texas football fans: Time, live stream, channel

2024’s first CFP rankings will offer an early look at the playoff bracket for Texas Longhorns football. Here’s how to watch.

The first official 12-team college football playoff rankings come out tonight. Texas Longhorns fans will officially see where UT stands with just a few weeks left in the regular season.

Texas’ strong start to the season should play a role in committee’s considerations. The Longhorns were an unbeaten No. 1 with, what was considered, a big win in Ann Arbor over Michigan. But the weaknesses of this Texas team started to show a couple weeks before the Georgia game.

The Horns were able to get by with slow starts against Mississippi State and Oklahoma because Texas is superior to each team. Then the talent level is close, like against Georgia, a slow start can spell doom. The team’s penalty problem has also been costly.

But tonight, Texas sees where they are. The upshot is, Texas will have to keep winning regardless where they are ranked. Win the next four games and they’ll be in. Lose one? Then you start getting into the realm of debates, bubbles, resumes, quality wins, conference membership and the ‘out of your control.’

How to watch College Football Playoff rankings show

TV Channel: ESPN

[afflinkbutton text=”Watch CFP rankings reveal live on Fubo (free trial)” link=”https://www.fubo.tv/welcome/leagues/191261?irad=399332&irmp=1205322&subId1=SMG&subId2=NCAAF&subId3=2024″]

College Football Playoff rankings release date:

Date: Tuesday, Nov. 5

What time is CFP rankings release?

Start Time: 7 PM ET

TEAM football CFP rankings projection

If you believe ESPN‘s own projection prognosticators, the Longhorns will be No. 5. The four teams ahead of Texas makes sense. Obviously, Georgia and Oregon will be above Texas. Ohio State just scored a win over a (then) Top 5 opponent in Penn State. Miami’s unblemished record will help the ‘Canes edge ahead. Texas slots in at 5th, then the likes of BYU, Vols, Penn State etc. fill in.

How many teams in College Football Playoff 2024?

For the first time, there will be 12 teams participating in the College Football Playoffs. There are five automatic bids for each of the Power Four conference champions and one to the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. The remaining seven slots are given to the seven at-large teams.

How does the College Football Playoff format work?

The top four seeds will be on a bye as the CFP kicks off. The next four highest-seeded teams will host on-campus playoff games as follows:

  • No. 5 vs No. 12, winner will play No. 4
  • No. 6 vs No. 11, winner will play No. 3
  • No. 7 vs No. 10, winner will play No. 2
  • No. 8 vs No. 9, winner will play No. 1

2024 College Football Playoff rankings release show dates:

  • Tuesday, November 5: The first show airs at 7 PM ET on ESPN
  • Tuesday, November 12: Airs at 9 PM ET on ESPN between games from Champions Classic Basketball Doubleheader * (Estimated start time) *
  • Tuesday, November 19: Airs at 7 PM ET on ESPN
  • Tuesday, November 26: Airs at 8 PM ET on ESPN
  • Tuesday, December 3: Airs at 7 PM ET on ESPN
  • Sunday, December 8: The final show airs at noon ET on ESPN. The final show is also known as Selection Day, when the committee announces the 12-team bracket, game locations, and sites.

Texas now No. 1 seed in USA TODAY Sports college football playoff projections

Thanks to Alabama’s stunning loss to Vanderbilt, the Texas Longhorns are new No. 1 seed in USA TODAY’s college football playoff projections.

The Texas Longhorns have been No. 1 in either the AP Top 25 or the US LBM Coaches Poll since the Michigan game. This is the first week Texas is No. 1 in both.

Now, in its weekly college football playoff projections, USA TODAY Sports has Texas as the No. 1 seed. The Horns replace the Alabama Crimson Tide, who were upset by Vanderbilt on Saturday. Bama is still in the playoff bracket according to the projections.

The Georgia Bulldogs are the only other SEC team in the playoff bracket forecast. After losing at Arkansas, the Tennessee Volunteers have dropped out. Notre Dame also jumps back into the projected bracket, recovering from an Week 2 loss to NIU.

There is still a lot of football left in the season. Texas heads to Dallas this weekend for its annual matchup with Oklahoma. Georgia visits Austin the next week.

What’s obvious through one week of October is that the SEC is going to cannibalize playoff contenders and leave multiple teams in the two-loss range by the end of the regular season. Even with conference play barely underway, there are only three SEC teams still unbeaten in league play – Texas, Texas A&M and LSU – and the Longhorns are the only one of the three without a non-conference loss.

In the end, Alabama is projected to rebound from this past weekend and finish the regular season with the record and resume to reach the playoff. — Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

 

CBS College Football Playoff Projections tabs Texas Longhorns to be 5th seed

With the college football playoff expanding to 12 teams, it seems almost a lock that the Texas Longhorns will be included. But where?

With the college football playoff expanding to 12 teams, it seems almost a lock that the Texas Longhorns will be included. But where?

In a (very) early college playoff projections, CBS Sports has listed Texas as the fifth seed in the expanded playoffs. According to CBS writer Jerry Palm, Texas would host a first round game against Boise State. 

Palm explains, “Because the byes will be handed to conference champions, it’s possible the teams that earn byes will not actually be the four highest-rated teams in the final CFP Rankings. In our CBS Sports preseason projection, only two of the top four teams, No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Ohio State, receive byes to the quarterfinals.”

Texas will have to win the SEC to be a top four seed and receive a first round bye. “That means No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Oregon would host first-round games as the respective fifth and sixth seeds,” Palm says.

CBS has four SEC teams in the top six of the final College Football Playoff rankings. Thus, the conference would have the top seed, plus seeds five, seven and eight. 

Projected 2024 College Football Playoff Seeds: 

1. Georgia Bulldogs (Bye)

2. Ohio State Buckeyes (Bye)

3. Utah Utes (Bye)

4. Florida State Seminoles (Bye)

5. Texas Longhorns vs. 12. Boise State (Winner faces 4. Florida State)

6. Oregon Ducks vs. 11. Kansas State Wildcats (Winner faces 3. Utah)

7. Alabama Crimson Tide vs. 10. Miami (FL) Hurricanes (Winner faces 2. Ohio State)

8. Texas A&M Aggies vs. 9. Penn State Nittany Lions (Winner faces 1. Georgia)

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Trey Luerssen on Twitter @TreyLuerssen.

Where Texas is projected for the 2024 College Football Playoffs

Texas Longhorns are projected to make the College Football Playoffs again.

Almost every major national publication has Texas going back to the Colleg Football Playoffs this year.

Before we discuss where the Texas Longhorns are projected for the 2024 College Football Playoff, there were significant changes from previous years with the expansion to a 12-team format, and here is a look at what it will look like.

How it Works:

  • Selection of the 12 teams:

    • The top five ranked conference champions are selected. More than likely being the champions of the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12, and Mountain West will earn a top-five seed.
    • The next seven highest-ranked teams (regardless of conference) are also selected. For example, Notre Dame and other highly ranked teams from the Power Four conferences will likely be selected.

  • Seeding for this season’s playoffs:

    • The top four conference champions are seeded 1-4 and receive a first-round bye. The conference winners of the SEC, Big Ten, ACC, and Big 12 will be rewarded a first-round bye in the first year of the new 12-team college football playoffs.
    • The fifth conference champion is seeded based on their overall ranking. Likely, the conference champions from the Mountain West or American Athletic Conference will be selected for the playoffs.
    • The remaining seven teams are seeded 5-12 based on their overall ranking. Even if Texas does not win the SEC this season, they can still have a home playoff game for the first round if ranked five through eight.

  • Bracket format for the playoffs:

    • Teams seeded 5 through 8 will host first-round games against teams seeded 9-12 in the playoffs. For example, if Texas were to receive the 7th seed they would host the 10th seed in the first round.
    • Winners of the first-round games advance to play the top four seeds in the quarterfinals of the playoffs.

  • College Football 2024 Semifinals and Championship Game:

    • The four remaining teams compete in the semifinals and championship game similar to last season’s format when it was a four-team playoff.

Key Changes from last season to this season:

  • Expanded Field: The most obvious change is the increase from four to twelve teams, which allows more teams to participate in this season’s playoffs. Even though Texas was in last season’s playoffs, the Longhorns could lose up to two games and still make this year’s playoffs.
  • First-Round Games: The introduction of first-round games adds an extra layer of excitement and competition and will make watching college football in mid to late December a must-watch for college football fans.
  • Bye Weeks for the top-seeded teams: The top four seeds now have a bye in the first round which is an award for the conference champions of the power four conferences.

Now let’s take a look at where Texas is projected to be in this upcoming college football playoffs in various college football preseason predictions.

Athlon Sports has Texas earning the 6th spot in the 2024 College Football Playoffs. They are projecting that the Longhorns will host No. 11 Notre Dame. Then they have Texas after defeating the Fighting Irish, play No. 3 seeded Florida State in the quarterfinals on Jan. 1 in the Peach Bowl. Finally, they have Texas advancing to the semifinals to face off against No. 2 Ohio State on Jan. 10 in the Cotton Bowl. Unfortunately for Texas fans, they are not forecasting the Longhorns defeating the Buckeyes and advancing to the title game.

College Football News has the Longhorns hosting Penn State in the first round of the playoffs on Dec. 21 with the game being on TNT. They then have Texas playing Ohio State in the quarterfinals on Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl. However, unlike Athlon Sports projections, they do not have the Longhorns advancing to the semifinals.

Sporting News has Texas ranked higher than the two other previous publications that have been mentioned already as they have the Longhorns as the No. 5 seed hosting No. 12 seed Memphis. They have Texas advancing to the quarterfinals to face off against No. 4 seed Florida State in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Then they have the Longhorns going to the semifinals after defeating the Seminoles to play No. 1 seed Georgia on Jan. 9 in the Capital One Orange Bowl. However, as high as Sporting News is on the Longhorns, they have them losing to the Bulldogs in the semifinals.

The New York Times via the Athletic has similar to Sporting News has Texas as the No. 5 seed hosting Memphis in the first round of the playoffs. They don’t give a full project of the playoffs as other publications have but they are quoted as saying,

“The Longhorns came within one play of making the title game last year. Don’t be surprised if they get there this season.”

247 Sports has Texas as the No. 5 seed hosting Liberty in the first round of the playoffs. In the quarterfinals, they have the Longhorns going up against the No. 4 seed Kansas State in the Fiesta Bowl. They have Texas advancing to the semifinals to play No. 2 seed Georgia in the Cotton Bowl. 247 Sports though does not have the Longhorns advancing to the title game.

Overall, all publications listed have Texas making the college football playoffs. Most have them making it to the semifinals but none of them have them advancing to the championship game. However, the games being played on the actual field this Fall and early Winter will determine how far the Longhorns advance in post season play.

Texas is capable of winning the SEC and a national title in 2024

Joel Klatt is buying in when it comes to Texas and their national championship hopes.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian is entering his fourth year in charge of the program, and the expectations in Austin are higher than they have been in over a decade. The Longhorns are coming off their first-ever College Football Playoffs appearance in 2023, and with the Playoffs expanding to 12 teams, the expectation is to be back competing for a national title.

Despite the expansion, the Longhorns’ path to the post-season may be even more difficult this year as they will have to navigate their transition to the Southeastern Conference. Texas’s year one schedule is brutal, including the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines, the No. 1 ranked pre-season Georgia Bulldogs, and bitter rivals Oklahoma Sooners all in the first seven weeks.

With Quinn Ewers returning for his third season as a starter and one of the top receiving cores in the nation, it is easy to see why many people have Texas as a top-five team in the country. It also doesn’t hurt that the Longhorn’s defense is one of the best in the nation as they were the No. 3 ranked rush defense, the No. 15 scoring defense, and the No. 2 third-down defense.

FOX Sports college football expert Joel Klatt is all in on Sark and the Longhorns in 2024 despite all the changes coming to the Forty Acres this fall. Klatt believes Texas not only can compete for an SEC title, but a national title as well.

“A culture within the building that is vibrant and authentic,” Klatt said of Texas. “I think that the players understand he really cares about them… I could not be more bullish on Texas football right now. In large part because I’ve known Steve (Sarkisian) for a long time. When I sit with him now, I sense something really special.”

Now, with a major target on their back, will the Longhorns be able to rise the challenges again in 2024?

Contact/Follow us @LonghornsWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.