How a 12-Team Playoff Would Look After the First CFP Rankings

Several fascinating first-round matchups would highlight the soon-to-be-expanded playoff.

Can you imagine Lane Kiffin and his Ole Miss Rebels heading north for a playoff game in the chilly Big House? How about Willie Fritz and Tulane meeting Georgia in Athens? And a rematch of LSU-Alabama, but this time in Tuscaloosa?

An expanded 12-team playoff would give us all of these goodies. The CFP selection committee unveiled its first rankings of 2022, and while it’s fun to complain and bicker about your team’s placement, it’s much more fun to imagine that the expanded 12-team playoff adopted this summer would begin this week.

Don’t worry, we did the work for you! In the bracket below you’ll find a 12-team playoff using the CFP selection committee’s rankings. Remember, we are following the format that CFP presidents adopted on Sept. 1. The six highest-ranked conference champions get an automatic bid, and the next six highest-ranked teams get an at-large spot. The top four conference champions receive byes into the quarterfinals. First-round games are hosted by the better seed, and the quarterfinals and semifinals are hosted at bowl sites.

Feast your eyes on this wonderful bracket! Coming in either 2024, 2025 or 2026!

And please keep in mind that there will normally not be this many intra-conference matchups in the first round. Over the course of a full season, teams will play themselves out of the field.

1. Tennessee (SEC champion)
Sugar Bowl

2. Ohio State (Big Ten champion)
Rose Bowl

3. Clemson (ACC champion)
Orange Bowl

4. TCU (Big 12 champion)
Cotton Bowl

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Semifinals: Peach (No. 1 v No. 4) and Fiesta (No. 2 v No. 3)

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5. Georgia (SEC at large)
12. Tulane (American champion)
Athens, Ga.

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6. Michigan (Big Ten at large)
11. Ole Miss (SEC at large)
Ann Arbor, Mich.

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7. Alabama (SEC at large)
10. LSU (SEC at large)
Tuscaloosa, Ala.

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8. Oregon (Pac-12 champ)
9. USC (Pac-12 at large)
Eugene, Ore.