College Football is underway again! This year is the debut of the new 12-team playoff format. In short, the major conference champions and teams in the top 12 rankings will participate in the tournament. Remember, the Pac-12 does not functionally exist this year, so the P5 is P4 this season. Will we see a team from the G5 breaking the top? Time will tell.
The selection committee, in theory, will most likely place conference champions and their runner-ups as the top 12 teams. Biases will be apparent as the season goes on. I'm also curious to see how the committee will take tiebreakers into account. The conferences are getting too big to have all of its members play against each other at least once in a season.
The preseason AP ranking is not accurate already. The Playoff Ranking will be the metric for placement for each competing team. At the time of my writing, Florida State lost their first game against Georgia Tech.
It's weird to see Penn State facing USC since conference expansion. Not having to deal with Michigan may seem like a relief, but the schedule doesn't look like a cakewalk. It would be foolish to assume Ohio State is the Nittany Lions' only challenge this season.
BYU has a tough season as well with Utah rejoining the fray. I would be happy if the Cougars could be bowl-eligible this year. The icing on the top would be beating the Utes and the other Cougars (Houston). The only easy game on the list here is against Southern Illinois. I wouldn't underestimate Wyoming. It's going to be a scary season.
I'm looking forward to how the new system plays out. I don't feel the same upbeat excitement as my colleagues, but I will watch with interest throughout the season. In a tournament format, the most consistent team wins.