2024 College Football Power Rankings After Playoff Round 1

Every week, I will provide an update that summarizes our College Football Power Rankings. FTN’s simulation model repeats 10,000 iterations and powers our weekly College Football Power Rankings. The rankings will update at the start of each week as the model collects additional data. If you are looking for weekly picks? Check out our CFB Betting Model, which is updated every Monday for the upcoming slate of games. 

We can use these ratings to create a point spread between any two teams in the country on a neutral field. Just subtract the lower team’s rating from the higher-ranked team’s rating. If you compare that number to the spread of a particular game, you can find situations where FTN identifies a betting edge. We will also keep track of teams that are trending up or down, helping to further identify value compared to the public’s perception of media polls.

Let’s take a quick look at where things stand with the FTN Power Rankings as we prepare for the second-round of the College Football Playoffs!

Ohio State Buckeyes

College Football Playoffs Seed: 8
FTN Power Ranking: 1

Our FTN Betting Model has backed the Buckeyes all season long, predicting they would be a favorite on a neutral field against any opponent. This proved true when the Buckeyes opened as a one-point favorite over Oregon in their upcoming battle at the Rose Bowl. We believe strongly in Ohio State, and the spread has risen to 2.5 points, despite the majority of bets supporting the No. 1 seeded Ducks. With Oregon currently as No. 3 in our FTN Power Rankings, this number projects correctly. 

Texas Longhorns

College Football Playoffs Seed: 5
FTN Power Ranking: 2

The Longhorns had a much easier path to the semifinals, blowing out No. 12 Clemson 38-24 before now sitting as a massive 14-point favorite over No. 4 Arizona State at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. By losing in overtime to No. 2 Georgia in the SEC Championship game, the Longhorns lost an opening-round bye but still had a fantastic draw in the postseason. We have Texas as our overall No. 2 team in our FTN Power Rankings and actually show value on the Longhorns in this matchup. We have Arizona State as the No. 19 team in our FTN Power Rankings and project this spread to be about 17 points, or three extra points of value. 

Penn State Nittany Lions

College Football Playoffs Seed: 6
FTN Power Ranking: 5

Penn State fought valiantly in its 45-37 loss to Oregon in the Big Ten Championship but rebounded with a comfortable 38-10 victory over No. 11 SMU. The current line of Penn State -11 shows massive value on Boise State, which is only No. 40 in our FTN Power Rankings. As great of a story as Boise State is, with a superior running back in Ashton Jeanty, we see this game as a comfortable Nittany Lions victory. Boise State needs to run the ball effectively, but the Penn State defensive front is simply too strong.

Georgia Bulldogs

College Football Playoffs Seed: 2
FTN Power Ranking: 6

Georgia is No. 6 in our FTN Power Rankings and is battling a Notre Dame that is just one spot behind the Bulldogs. This perfectly coincides with the 1.5-point spread for their January 1 meeting in the Sugar Bowl.  Despite a home loss to Northern Illinois on September 7, the Irish have reeled off 11 straight wins, but Georgia is currently receiving the overwhelming amount of the public bets.

Be sure to check out our other college football betting tools: 

• CFB Betting Model
• CFB Bet Tracker & Expert Picks
• CFB Playoff Simulations