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Predicting every game of the College Football Playoff
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Predicting every game of the College Football Playoff

Welcome to the 12-team CFP! Now who wins it?!

Matt Fortuna's avatar
Matt Fortuna
Dec 20, 2024
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The Inside Zone
Predicting every game of the College Football Playoff
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Photo: Matt Fortuna

History is here.

Indiana and Notre Dame will ring in the first game of the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff at 8 ET, creating what is sure to be an electric atmosphere at the first on-campus Playoff game in the event’s history.

Three games follow on Saturday, with the winners advancing to play on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day in the quarterfinals.

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It’s safe to say this sport has never seen anything like this. And it’s safe to say that this year’s title race is as wide open as ever, with only one team escaping the pre-Playoff road unbeaten.

No. 1 Oregon has a rather difficult draw, however, adding to the drama of this March Madness-like field.

Let’s go ahead and predict how this tournament will unfold.

Get your bracket ready and leave your picks in the comments section — I’ll hand out a free subscription to a lucky winner who posts a better record than me. (We’ll score it basketball style, with 1 point for each first-round win, 2 for quarterfinals, 4 for semis and 8 if you pick the correct title winner.)

Here are my game picks for each round. (Lines via FanDuel, including lookahead lines for the quarterfinals.)

FIRST ROUND

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