CFP Trouble Could Be Brewing If No. 1 Seed's Path Goes Through Enemy Territory | Barrett Sallee

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The first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2024 season will be revealed on Tuesday, which means it’s time for the collective college football world to RAGE. Well, not really. I’m sure that whichever team is ranked No. 1 on Thursday night will be pretty cool with the rankings. Everybody else? Not so much. 

Consider those rankings just the appetizer, though, because there will be panic come Selection Sunday when the final rankings and matchups are posted. 

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However, there could be another storm brewing, and it’s not one that was well-known. College Football Playoff Executive Director Rich Clark and Senior Director of Communications Brett Daniels held a webinar for members of the media on Wednesday to run through details of the system. One detail included the possibility that the No. 1 team in the country might not have all of the advantages. 

Here’s an example.

The two semifinals will be held at the Cotton Bowl in metropolitan Dallas and the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida, this year. Common sense would allow the highest-ranked winner of the quarterfinals to choose where they want to play. That’s not the case, though. The No. 1 team in the country - and its entire side of the quarterfinal bracket - will feed directly into the bowl closest to the No. 1 seed’s campus.

DALLAS, TEXAS - OCTOBER 12: A general view of the exterior of the stadium is shown before the game between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns at Cotton Bowl Stadium on October 12, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)

Let’s use last year for a little more context. 

Michigan was the top-ranked team in the country, and would receive one of the four first-round byes under the new 12-team format. So, using this year’s semifinal locations, the winners of Michigan’s side of the bracket would feed into the Cotton Bowl because Ann Arbor is geographically closer to Dallas than Miami - no questions asked. Michigan wouldn’t have any say in it.

That might not seem like a big deal on the surface, but it could prove to be a massive disadvantage. What if Michigan matched up with a team from Texas in the Cotton Bowl? Too bad, so sad. 

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It’s impossible to determine if this hypothetical situation is even realistic based on how the landscape of the 2024 season has evolved. However, if No. 1 Oregon is forced to play Texas in the Cotton Bowl national semifinal simply because Eugene, Oregon, is closer to Dallas than Miami, the reaction in the Pacific Northwest will be very interesting.

I loved the BCS. However, like a politician, I have conceded the "election." I lost. The "Playoff Expansionists" won. There’s no going back. As they say, "elections have consequences." This isn’t one that was considered when the college football world went to the ballot box.