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One of the popular sentiments on social media, media and college football circles is that Utah will be one of the favorites to win the Big 12 football title when the Utes play their first season in the league this fall.
With the College Football Playoff expanding from four to 12 teams this year, and the top five conference champions receiving automatic playoff bids, it also opens up the possibility that the winner of the Big 12, and perhaps one other team, have a chance to win. play for a national championship.
Last week, the CFP released the schedule for what will be the 2024 playoff. This is what it looks like, with the five highest-ranked conference champions earning seeds, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams earning at-large spots.
2024 College Football Playoff Schedule
First round
Note: First-round games will feature the playoff teams ranked 5th through 12th and will be played at the home stadiums of the highest ranked teams (5th through 8th).
Friday December 20
- First round game No. 1: 6 pm ET, TV: ABC/ESPN.
Saturday December 21
- First round game No. 2: 10 a.m. MST, TV: TNT.
- First round game No. 3: 14:00 MST, TV: TNT.
- First round game No. 4: 6 pm ET, TV: ABC/ESPN.
Quarter finals
Note: Playoff teams ranked 1-4 will get a first-round bye and begin play in the quarterfinals.
Unlike the first-round games played at the host sites, the CFP quarterfinals and semifinals will rotate each year among these six bowl game sites: Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl , Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl.
For the 2024-25 postseason, the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl will host quarterfinal matchups.
Tuesday December 31
- Party bowl: 5:30 pm MST, TV: ESPN.
Wednesday, January 1
- Peach bowl: 11 a.m. MST, TV: ESPN.
- Vase: 3 pm MST, TV: ESPN.
- Sugar bowl: 6:45 pm MST, TV: ESPN.
Semifinals
Note: The Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl will host the 2024-25 postseason semifinal matchups.
Thursday January 9
- Orange bowl: 5:30 pm ET, ESPN.
Friday, January 10
- Cotton bowl: 5:30 pm ET, ESPN.
National Championship
Note: The 2024-25 national championship game will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Monday January 20
- CFP National Championship: 5:30 pm ET, ESPN.
Which Big 12 teams are favorites to make the College Football Playoffs in 2024?
The tides have turned a bit in the Big 12 this season, with Texas and Oklahoma leaving for the SEC and Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State joining the league.
With the Longhorns and Sooners blue blood programs gone, there is an expectation that parity could rule the conference, particularly this first season as a 16-team conference.
That kind of parity is reflected in ESPN’s Football Power Index, which was updated last week.
No Big 12 teams are ranked in the top 15 of the FPI, but there are 10 Big 12 teams in the top 36 of the rankings, which is, according to ESPN, “a measure of team strength intended to be the best predictor.” of a team’s future performance over the remainder of the season. The FPI represents how many points above or below the average a team is.”
Utah is right in the middle of the 10 Big 12 teams ranked from No. 17 to No. 36 in the FPI, with the Utes at No. 27. Only Kansas (No. 17), Kansas State (No. 22), Arizona (No. 24) and Oklahoma State (No. 26) are ahead of Utah.
There are five Big 12 teams in the top 10 spots behind Utah, including Texas Tech (No. 29), TCU (No. 30), UCF (No. 32), West Virginia (No. 35) and Colorado (No. 36). . .
ESPN’s FPI gives the Utes an 8.2% chance of winning the Big 12, with a 12.5% chance of making the playoffs. There are six Big 12 teams with a 10% or better chance of making a CFP appearance, led by Kansas (24%) and Kansas State (21.4%).
One thing in Utah’s favor is its strength of schedule, which is the second-easiest among teams in the league and 72nd nationally, according to FPI, and only behind projected league winner Kansas in the 77th place.
In the Utes’ first season in the Big 12, they avoid playing Kansas and Kansas State, and although they must play Oklahoma State in their first league game, Utah has another conference favorite, Arizona, at home.
Early Big 12 College Football Playoff Projections
Here’s what some national media have predicted for this year’s College Football Playoff and which Big 12 teams they predict will make the playoff:
- CBS Sports Utah was projected to win the Big 12 during its first season in the league, earning the third seed and a first-round bye as the only conference team in the field. The Utes would play the winner of No. 6 Texas and No. 11 Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl in the quarterfinals.
- On3.com projected Kansas State to win the Big 12 and earn a No. 4 seed, with a first-round bye, as the league’s sole representative.
- ESPN surveyed a panel of six writers in February about their CFP predictions this season: two (Chris Low, Heather Dinich) had Utah as the Big 12 champion and third overall, another (Harry Lyles Jr.) had to the Utes as the The No. 4 and a fourth seed (Bill Connelly) placed Utah with an at-large bid as the No. 11 seed and a first-round matchup against No. 6 Ohio State.
- In ESPN’s projections, two Big 12 teams made the CFP field in two projections: Connelly predicted Kansas State would be the fourth seed ahead of No. 11 Utah, while Andrea Adelson predicted Arizona would be the fourth seed as champions. of the Big 12 and Kansas State would be an overall No. 10 seed. Another team in the league also appeared in ESPN’s projections: David Hale predicted Kansas would be the conference champion and the No. 4 seed.
- 247 sports He projected Utah would win the Big 12 and earn a No. 4 seed, with a first-round bye, as the league’s sole representative.
In case you missed it
Utah is busy hosting more than 30 June football recruits on official visits, and the Utes received their first commitment of the month. He came from Las Vegas native Sione Motuapuakaa 6-foot, 250-pound defensive lineman who plays for national power Bishop Gorman High and is rated as a three-star prospect by 247 Sports.
From the file
Extra points
- Who has committed to Utah and who is visiting as official visits increase? (Deseret News)
- Utah’s new assistant coach comes from Big 12 country (Deseret News)
- Here’s what close friends Kalani Sitake and Kyle Whittingham said about each other this week (Deseret News)