ESPN computer predicts College Football Playoff teams ahead of Week 1
We haven't played a down on the Week 1 college football schedule yet, but that hasn't kept the prediction machine from churning out its picks.
That's including the ESPN football power index, which released its projections for the four College Football Playoff teams this season.
Let's take a look at the latest predictions to make the semifinal.
College Football Playoff predictions, per ESPN
Clemson is an early College Football Playoff pick
1. Ohio State — 82.4 percent
2. Alabama — 79.1 percent
3. Georgia — 73.9 percent
4. Clemson — 57.8 percent
+ The favorites out of the Big Ten are also the favorites to make the final four, as Ohio State looks to rebound from its two-loss outing a year ago returning most of the No. 1 offense in college football, but whose defense is still an open question.
+ Alabama is the near consensus No. 1 team in the country to open the season, but plays a tougher schedule coming out of the SEC, including a crucial midseason home date with Texas A&M. FPI projects the Tide have a 17 percent chance to go undefeated.
+ College football's defending national champs for the first time since 1980, Georgia is the easy favorite to win the SEC East and play for the conference title again, but likely won't be favored against presumptive West favorite Alabama, so should ideally be undefeated going to Atlanta.
+ Clemson went to the College Football Playoff for six straight years before 2021, but return the bulk of an elite defensive front and should get better play from quarterback DJ Uiagalelei while Clemson works in two new coordinators to assist Dabo Swinney.
Who else is in the running?
5. Notre Dame — 29.8 percent
6. Michigan — 16.4 percent
7. Texas — 13.1 percent
8. Oklahoma — 11.5 percent
9. Miami — 8.3 percent
10. Utah — 6.7 percent
ESPN Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings are a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance.
Rankings and scores predictions are based on 10,000 simulations of a team’s season, using a combination of analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, and a team’s schedule.