With more playoff seats, comes bigger competition. Sorry to rain on y’all’s parlay, if you thought a change in the CFB 2024 playoff format would mean your team would qualify. First, there used to be just four giants. Now, there’s gonna be 12 giants drawing blood to reach the playoffs. But there are teams who are dreaming about the 15-0 streak of Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines already. But is it possible?

We appreciate The Athletic and Coaches poll for making it easy for everyone. Launching their respective top-ranked teams after week 8, and, like the football nerds we are, we couldn’t resist the opportunity to analyze it. You just gotta sit back and enjoy all the fierce drama up until now on that rocking chair of yours. We’ve seen it all, from deadline transfers to miraculous last-minute touchdowns, Ryan Williams announcing himself to the CFB multiverse seeing the great upset of Alabama, and the elite QB breaking up with the Bulldogs. We seriously don’t know what more we could ask for, more interesting than the Twilight obviously.

This time around, we bring you our own set of predictions for the programs that have the highest chance of making it to the playoffs. Whether defeated or undefeated like the Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan. But hey! Don’t blame it on us if y’all don’t hit your parlay.

The undisputed heir to Michigan

In a 12-team playoff, it is likely that there will be teams with two losses, but it is important for those teams to maintain the perception of being capable of winning the national title. In Saturday’s loss to Tennessee, Alabama did not. Remember, this is NOT a projection of what it will look like on selection day. Rather, it’s a glimpse of who’s in the driver’s seat.

With a flawless 7-0 record, the Oregon Ducks were in contention for the No. 1 spot last week. Oregon can claim the top position following Ohio State’s loss and Texas’ defeat. ESPN ranks Oregon as the top team in their strength of record metric.

Miami Hurricanes (7-0): The Canes didn’t have it easy themselves, but they’ve added back-to-back road wins to their résumé and scored at least 39 points in each. On top of that, they have an explosive offense, thanks to Heisman-hopeful quarterback Cam Ward, and that has been a trait of past playoff teams.

And more like undefeated programs like Penn State Nittany Lions (6-0), BYU Cougars (7-0) and Indiana Hoosiers (7-0).

Not undefeated, no problem

Some with a loss are still as scary as the undisputed ones.

The Bulldogs (6-1) now have two of the best wins in the country – in the season opener against Clemson, which continues to improve each week.

Georgia beat the Longhorns (6-1) on their own turf, leaving no doubt about who was the better team and earning a critical head-to-head win that impacted both the SEC and playoff race.

Then we have Ohio State Buckeyes (5-1). While Ohio State is undoubtedly one of the most talented teams in the country, it lacks a statement win. The 35-7 home win against Iowa (4-3) is the highlight on their resume so far, as every other opponent is also unranked and has at least three losses.

Other teams like LSU Tigers (6-1), Clemson Tigers (6-1), Tennessee Vols (6-1) and, of course, the Heismanic Ashton Jeanty’s Boise State Broncos (5-1) are all potential threats.