2024 CFP Round 2 Review
An update on how the Committee's Top 25 is doing coming out of the Round 2 games.
This first go-round of the 12-team College Football Playoff format has completely ruined my understanding of time during the Christmas-New Year Holiday season. Juggling holiday festivities, regular bowl games, the CFP games and trying to actually get some rest during a rare break in the 9-to-5 action has been dizzying.
But we’re on the other en now and I’m going to take a stab at providing an update on what took place in the CFB Multiverse. More specifically, how the Committee’s Top 25 is looking after the Second Round slate of games.
Big Picture
It feels like an eternity since the final CFP rankings came out. #1 ranked Oregon and #2 ranked Georgia landed the top spots along with First Round byes. Teams ranked 3-8 all had to play in the Round 1 while #9 Boise State and #12 Arizona State grabbed the last two byes. Clemson was the 5th highest-ranked conference champion but got slotted into the First Round action. Alabama (#11), Miami (#13), Ole Miss (#14) and South Carolina (#15) were all left out of the mix but could’ve made snub cases given the Clemson situation.
ACC
How It Started
Four teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference finished the regular season in the CFP’s Top 25. First-year member SMU was the highest ranked at #10 but only landed an at-large Playoff bid due to the conference’s race to the bottom of the Power 4. Miami (FL) was the next highest ranked at #13 but due to their end of season crash-out was the 2nd team out of the Playoff. And in true 2024 CFB fashion, Clemson clinched the conference championship and was rewarded with pretty much the same Playoff implications as SMU.
The Syracuse Orange made it into the mix with a #21 ranking but was the 9th team out of CFP action.
How It’s Going
SMU lost their Round 1 game against Penn State by a 28-point differential. Miami (FL) took their talents up to Orlando to face off against Iowa State in the Pop-Tart Bowl. As the non-CFP bowl games rapidly fade to black this game is gaining popularity among fans and this year it also delivered a good matchup. Iowa State (Big 12, #18) beat the Canes by 1-point in what some are calling an upset. But if you watched Miami’s late season tailspin, the game outcome shouldn’t have been a surprise. Cam Ward’s decision to sit out the 2nd half, though. That was a surprise.
Clemson followed suit with SMU, but to a lesser extent. They dropped their First Round game against Texas by 14 points. No one really expected them to be in that situation so there’s not much too care about in my opinion.
Syracuse trekked out to San Diego for the Holiday Bowl and faced off against the Pac-2’s Washington State. They came up with a notable 52-35 win over the Cougars and wound up having the most successful ACC postseason.
American
How It Started
Two of the American conference teams found their way into the CFP’s Top 25. Army got the #22 ranking and Memphis earned the #25 slot.
How It’s Going
Army ended up playing in the Independence Bowl down in Shreveport, Louisiana. Their opponent was Louisiana Tech and the Black Knights pulled out an incredibly decisive +21 victory. Memphis played against West Virginia and ended their 2024 season with a +5, 42-37 win over the Mountaineers.
Big 12
How It Started
The Big 12 had four teams land spots in the Top 25. Arizona State earned the #12 ranking and was also the 4th highest ranked conference champion. Their path to the conference championship was largely built on the backs of other teams’ mishaps. BYU and Iowa State were ranked #17 and #18, respectively. BYU finished with an 11-2 overall record and a 7-2 conference record (tied with Arizona State) but was the 5th team knocked out of Playoff contention. Iowa State’s overall record was 11-3 and 7-2 against Big 12 opponents. Colorado nabbed the #23 ranking in the final release.
How It’s Going
Arizona State lost its Round 2 CFP debut against Texas by eight points. The game went to double overtime, largely due to the Sun Devil’s 14-point run in the 4th quarter. A lot of folks will say it’s proof they didn’t belong, let alone earn a bye. But seeing as how Texas is now the strongest SEC team left standing, I imagine most folks will be ok with not digging too deep into how competitive the game turned out to be.
The Alamo Bowl turned out to be Big 12 Championship game we probably deserved but few are complaining that we didn’t. the Cougars routed the Buffs 36-14 in a game that was completely one sided.
Iowa State ended up being the Big 12 champion runner-up but were crowned Kings of the Pop-Tart with their 42-41 won over Miami (FL).
Big Ten
How It Started
Oregon was the only Power 4 team to finish 2024 undefeated. That earned them the #1 ranking, title of highest ranked conference champion and a First Round bye. Penn State (#4), Ohio State (#6) and Indiana (#8) all earned at-large bids into the Playoff. Illinois had an uncharacteristically strong season and crept up to #20 in the final CFP rankings.
How It’s Going
Oregon had a stellar 2024 season and quieted a lot of folks’ skepticism about the program’s ability to compete in the Big Ten. And they torched most of that goodwill when they lost 21-41 to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. They beat the Buckeyes in their first matchup 32-31 at home but fell apart in Round 2 of the Playoff.
Penn State beat SMU 38-10 in their Round 1 game and then dominated Boise State 31-14 in Round 2. Ohio State trounced Tennessee 42-17 in their Round 1 home game and pulled off a Round 2 win on the West Coast.
Indiana took a decisive 17-27 loss to Notre Dame in Round 1 to end their historic postseason run.
Illinois finished the year 10-3 overall and 6-3 against Big Ten competition. They capped everything off with a 21-17 win over South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl.
Mountain West
How It Started
The Mountain West placed two teams in the Top 25. Boise State was ranked #9 and earned a First Round bye as the 3rd highest ranked conference champion. UNLV snuck into the #24 spot and was the 12th team ruled out of the Playoff action.
How It’s Going
The Broncos got shellacked by 17 points in the Fiesta Bowl. A major reason for Boise State getting to this point was Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty who just couldn’t get much going against the Nittany Lions. UNLV beat California 24-13 in the LA Bowl.
SEC
How It Started
Here we go. Seven SEC teams found their way into the 2024 CFP’s Top 25. Georgia clinched the SEC Championship and was rewarded with a First Round bye. Texas landed the #3 ranking and Tennessee got the #7 spot, which translated into at-large CFP bids. The Crimson Tide finished the season with a 9-4 overall record and 5-3 record against SEC opponents. They were ranked #11 by the Committee in their final release and will go down in history as the 1st team knocked out of the inaugural 12-team format. Ole Miss (#14), South Carolina (#15) and Missouri (#19) all found their way into the Top 25 but were left out of Playoff action.
How It’s Going
Coming out of Round 2, Texas is the only SEC team left standing of the three that entered Playoff games. Georgia got decisively beat by Notre Dame 23-10 in their Round 2 appearance.
Check out my full review of that game over on One Foot Down.
Tennessee got the worst of it and dropped a 25 point loss to Ohio State in the First Round. Texas continues to show up its new conference mates and closed out Round 1 with a 38-24 win over Clemson and punched their ticket to the Semifinals with a 39-31 victory over Arizona State.
Alabama capped off its 2024 implosion with a 13-19 loss to Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl. It’s still fresh but I predict that Tuscaloosa is not going to respond to this in a rational way. Should be entertaining, depending on what side of the overcorrection you end up being on.
Ole Miss’s final record was 10-3 overall and 5-3 against SEC competition. They wrapped 2024 up with a dominant 52-20 win over Duke. South Carolina (#15) lost 17-21 to Illinois (#20). Missouri eked out a 27-24 win over Iowa in the Music City Bowl.
If the regular season didn’t raise a ton of questions about the SEC, the conferences performances in the postseason have triggered a full-on inquisition. I’m not sold on the idea that the conference is dead but I’m going to enjoy the shenanigans that come in response to the 2024 season’s results.
