For years, the Eleven Warriors staff has always compiled a yearly preseason Heisman and College Football Playoff prediction piece.
But the inaugural 12-team expanded playoff has thrown a fun wrinkle into things, making our staff think a little harder and have to pick eight more teams that will fight their way into a playoff berth.
Each staff member was tasked with picking a conference champion from the Power Four conferences, a Group of Five representative, seven at-large selections, a CFP darkhorse and the eventual national championship for the playoff prediction portion of the article.
Unfortunately, Dan was all too accurate in his predictions last season, where he predicted Michigan to win the national championship and Washington to make the four-team field. You'll all be happy to know that no one picked the Wolverines to repeat in 2024.
As you'd expect from an Ohio State-centric website in a year that's been labeled title or bust for the Buckeyes by many, the Buckeyes were a popular national championship pick. So popular, well, it was kind of unanimous. You'll never guess the team nearly every staffer had them beating in the national title, too.
Fortunately, we were much more diverse and creative with the at-large selections themselves, and only one Heisman contender received multiple votes.
Check out our CFP and Heisman predictions below, then tell us yours in the comments.
Dan Hope
CFP Picks
Big Ten champ: Ohio State
SEC champ: Georgia
Big 12 champ: Arizona
ACC champ: Florida State
Group of Five bid: Boise State
Seven at-large teams: Oregon, Notre Dame, Texas, Penn State, Missouri, Alabama, LSU
Darkhorse playoff contender: Syracuse
National championship game and winner: Ohio State over Georgia
Breakdown: I subjected myself to the wrath of Eleven Warriors commenters last year by correctly picking Michigan to win the national championship, so you know I wouldn’t pick the Buckeyes to win it all if I didn’t truly believe it. Georgia has a better quarterback and offensive line than Ohio State, so I nearly picked the Bulldogs for that reason. But the Buckeyes should have the nation’s best defense, running back tandem and receiving corps, and I’m cautiously optimistic Will Howard and the front five will be good enough for Ohio State to capitalize on being loaded everywhere else.
Heisman pick
Winner: Noah Fifita, QB, Arizona
Breakdown: In a year where picking the Heisman winner feels like a total crapshoot, I’m going down the board and betting on Fifita, who was one of college football’s best quarterbacks in the second half of last season. He should put up big numbers in a conference that’s not known for its defense, and he’ll be in the Heisman conversation if he can lead Arizona to its first-ever College Football Playoff in its first year in the Big 12. Here’s hoping this pick works out better than the last time Eleven Warriors staffers backed an Arizona quarterback to win the Heisman.
Chase Brown
CFP Picks
Big Ten champ: Ohio State
SEC champ: Georgia
Big 12 champ: Can I still choose Oklahoma or Texas? ... Utah.
ACC champ: Florida State
Group of Five bid: Boise State
Seven at-large teams: Oregon, Penn State, Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss, NC State, Notre Dame
Darkhorse playoff contender: Kansas
National championship game and winner: Ohio State over Georgia
Breakdown: Ohio State won the first-ever four-team College Football Playoff in 2014. Why not kick off the 12-team College Football Playoff in the same fashion? The Buckeyes have the talent, and that talent is more motivated than ever before. Give me Ohio State over Georgia — the two best teams the sport has to offer this season — in a game that will go down as an instant classic.
Heisman pick
Winner: Carson Beck, QB, Georgia
Breakdown: The Heisman Trophy has become a glorified quarterback award. Georgia will be one of the best teams — if not the best team — in college this season, and with Beck as the Bulldogs' unquestioned leader as a second-year starter, I think he has the best chance to hoist the Heisman in 2024.
Andy Anders
CFP Picks
Big Ten champ: Ohio State
SEC champ: Georgia
Big 12 champ: Oklahoma State
ACC champ: Florida State
Group of Five bid: Tulane
Seven at-large teams: Texas, Oregon, Missouri, Penn State, Notre Dame, Clemson, Kansas
Darkhorse playoff contender: NC State
National championship game and winner: Ohio State over Georgia
Breakdown: I think this is the year it all comes together for the Buckeyes, who I believe have the most talented roster in college football and the right coordinators in place to deploy those pieces properly. Georgia, Texas and Oregon are the next three teams that stand out to me as title contenders, though only two from the group of four can get a first-round bye. I also think people are sleeping on how good Missouri will be and I think Notre Dame and Clemson backdoor their entries on name recognition after two- or three-loss seasons.
Heisman pick
Winner: Ollie Gordon II, RB, Oklahoma State
Breakdown: It’s been nine years since a running back won the Heisman and I think the setting is right for Ollie Gordon to break that trend. With Texas and Oklahoma gone, I think Oklahoma State wins the Big 12 to give the running back the visibility he needs and he’s coming off a 1,700-yard season which won him the Doak Walker Award.
Matt Gutridge
CFP Picks
Big Ten champ: Ohio State
SEC champ: Texas
Big 12 champ: Utah
ACC champ: Florida State
Group of Five bid: Liberty
Seven at-large teams: Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Penn State
Darkhorse playoff contender: Miami
National championship game and winner: Ohio State over Georgia
Breakdown: It will be interesting to see how the committee selects the first 12-team College Football Playoff field. I’m banking on the committee to play it safe by selecting four of the seven at-large teams from the B1G and SEC. Provided the injury bug doesn’t bite them, Ohio State and Georgia have the deepest and most talented rosters in college football. It might be boring, but it appears the two programs have separated themselves from the rest of the field this season.
Heisman pick
Winner: Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas
Breakdown: Ewers has the name recognition and arm talent that voters like. Texas also has enough marquee games for the Longhorns' quarterback to take home the hardware. A shame Ewers used Ohio State for NIL gain. Had he enrolled at Ohio State when he was supposed to, the last two seasons in Columbus would likely have played out very differently.
Kyle Jones
CFP Picks
Big Ten champ: Ohio State
SEC champ: Texas
Big 12 champ: Oklahoma State
ACC champ: Miami
Group of Five bid: Liberty
Seven at-large teams: Georgia, Oregon, Ole Miss, Florida State, Alabama, Penn State, Utah
Darkhorse playoff contender: Louisville
National championship game and winner: Ohio State over Georgia
Breakdown: Talent and manageable schedules allow OSU and Texas to make it through the regular season as the clear top two seeds, while Oklahoma State and Miami ride senior-laden rosters to surprising conference victories while conference favorites Utah and Florida State, respectively, struggle to find their rhythm despite starting veteran QBs. Liberty, meanwhile, rides into the first 12-team CFP thanks to a hilariously easy schedule before getting sacrificed to the P4 gods in the playoff’s first round. Elsewhere, Jeff Brohm puts Louisville in the conversation for the playoff after an early season upset in South Bend, but two losses to Miami to go with another in Clemson give the committee enough reason to leave them on the outside looking in. In the end, though, the two deepest rosters in the country survive the longest season in the history of the sport with Ohio State’s secondary carrying the team to its first title in a decade.
Heisman pick
Winner: Nico Iamaleava, QB, Tennessee
Breakdown: The Vols’ schedule is relatively favorable outside of a trip to Athens in November, with a light non-conference slate featuring Chattanooga, NC State, and Kent State. Voters in recent years have trended towards stats and highlights over wins and losses, and Josh Heupel’s offensive system should allow the former 5-star recruit to produce plenty of both.
Ramzy Nasrallah
CFP Picks
Big Ten champ: Ohio State
SEC champ: Georgia
Big 12 champ: Utah
ACC champ: Miami
Group of Five bid: Liberty
Seven at-large teams: Oregon, Texas, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Clemson, Penn State, Tennessee
Darkhorse playoff contender: Alabama, LOL
National championship game and winner: Ohio State over Georgia
Breakdown: Ohio State’s schedule, seasoning and overall talent make them hard to pick against. The first wildcard is if Ryan Day settles into his CEO role and allows in-game tactics and game management to be handled by his staff. The second wildcard is if Ohio State can get 6-7 touchdown leads in 1st halves against their patsies, allowing them to rest and sustain their talent advantage and stamina throughout the season – similar to what Michigan did against a similar schedule last year.
Heisman pick
Winner: Carson Beck, QB, Georgia
Breakdown: Schedule, weapons, program pedigree and SEC QBs are on a bit of a tear here.
Josh Poloha
CFP Picks
Big Ten champ: Ohio State
SEC champ: Georgia
Big 12 champ: Kansas State
ACC champ: Florida State
Group of Five bid: Liberty
Seven at-large teams: Oregon, Texas, Notre Dame, Penn State, Missouri, Alabama, Ole Miss
Darkhorse playoff contender: Iowa
National championship game and winner: Ohio State over Georgia
Breakdown: The Buckeyes win it all, getting their revenge on the Bulldogs to give them the inaugural CFP title and the first 12-team playoff national championship. Picking every conference tournament champ given the expanded conferences was tough enough. Add in picking seven at-large, and, well, this season is going to be crazy. There are so many teams who could be one of the 12 teams in the new-look CFP this season, which should make this year one of the most exciting seasons ever. That said, Ohio State's dominant defense will be tough to compete with and the Buckeye offense will be able to move the ball both through the air and on the ground, giving OSU a perfect combination on both sides of the ball.
Heisman pick
Winner: Dillon Gabriel, QB, Oregon
Breakdown: Given how talented the Ducks are this season paired with their high-powered offense and the fact that Gabriel is a sixth-year senior who can make plays with his legs or his arm, there's a reason he's the favorite to win the Heisman this season. and it's tough to pick against it.
Garrick Hodge
CFP Picks
Big Ten champ: Ohio State
SEC champ: Georgia
Big 12 champ: Utah
ACC champ: Miami — Florida State running out DJU means I ain't picking you
Group of Five bid: Boise State
Seven at-large teams: Oregon, Alabama, Penn State, Texas, Notre Dame, Iowa, Ole Miss
Darkhorse playoff contender: Nebraska — don't laugh, look at the schedule
National championship game and winner: Ohio State over Georgia
Breakdown: I'm sorry, guys. I tried to pick a different title matchup besides Ohio State and Georgia but I couldn't do it. Texas is already down to three scholarship running backs before the season has even started. Alabama's secondary is concerning. Oregon hasn't gotten over the hump. Penn State has James Franklin. You get the point. Turns out, we're all a bunch of unoriginal jabronis, we'll be more creative in 2025.
Utah will win the Big 12 over Oklahoma State in what could be a swan song for Kyle Whittingham. Miami will finally have talent overcome a coach who loses a game when you just need to take a knee. Boise State will cause too many people to lose money in a futile upset pick because they have Ashton Jeanty. Notre Dame's schedule is cake. Iowa can't complete a pass but the defense can carry them to an at-large selection with a cakewalk schedule. The SEC and Big Ten will each get four teams in because the committee will want it that way.
And Ohio State and Georgia are clearly the two best teams in the sport, and the Buckeyes will be the last one standing.
Heisman pick
Winner: Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama
Breakdown: Dual-threat quarterbacks can be catnip for Heisman Trophy voters, AKA Jayden Daniels a year ago. Say what you will about Nick Saban being gone, but Kalen DeBoer turned Michael Penix into a top-10 pick and could do wonders for Milroe's development. Factor in that he should be Bama's unquestioned quarterback all season long and the guy has a chance to put up insane numbers.
