College Football Playoff bracket predictions: The Athletic’s experts vs. our readers

The Athletic has live coverage of Miami vs. Texas A&M in the College Football Playoff first round.

OK, it hasn’t exactly been a banner year for accurate college football predictions. But the field has been narrowed now: Just 12 teams have a chance to win the national championship in the College Football Playoff, and we’ve gathered predictions from 30 staff members at The Athletic, plus the projections model from our Austin Mock and votes from 2,551 readers, too.

Advertisement

Though there are many similarities between the three sets of predictions, our staff and our readers did come up with different consensus national championship picks. Who will prevail? Let’s dig in, round by round. (Also check out Bruce Feldman polling 24 coaches for their thoughts here.)

First round

It should come as no surprise that Oregon and Ole Miss are heavy favorites by all parties in their first-round matchups at home against Group of 5 teams.

The other two first-round games are split. Oklahoma beat Alabama last year and last month, but 18 of our 30 staffers like the Crimson Tide to win in Norman on Friday night. However, 55 percent of readers go with the Sooners after Alabama limped into the CFP with a rough final month.

Miami at Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon is even closer among our staff, with the Hurricanes getting 16 votes for a road upset. But two-thirds of readers like the Aggies to beat the last-at-large-team-in Hurricanes after their controversial leap over Notre Dame on selection day. We can neither confirm nor deny whether Irish fans stuffed the ballot box.

Quarterfinals

It still doesn’t quite feel real, right? Indiana, until recently the losingest program in major college football history, is the Big Ten champion with a Heisman Trophy winner, a national coach of the year and a perfect 13-0 record. It is No. 1 in the polls for the first time, and it will play one of the nation’s most storied programs in its first Rose Bowl since the 1967 season. Whether it’s Oklahoma or Alabama, the consensus firmly favors the Hoosiers winning the biggest game in program history to this poi