We've never seen a 12-team College Football Playoff play out before.
But that changes tonight with Indiana and Notre Dame kicking off at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Since it's the inaugural 12-team bracket, a good portion of our staff thought we'd take a crack at forecasting how the first-ever expanded CFP will play out. Oregon is a popular choice to win it all, as the majority of our staff forecasts the Ducks to win their first-ever national championship.
Below, you can find each staff member's projection.
Garrick Hodge
First round
Notre Dame vs. Indiana winner: Notre Dame
Penn State vs. SMU winner: Penn State
Texas vs. Clemson winner: Texas
Ohio State vs. Tennessee winner: Ohio State
Quarterfinals
Rose Bowl winner: Oregon
Peach Bowl winner: Texas
Fiesta Bowl winner: Penn State
Sugar Bowl winner: Notre Dame
Semifinals
Cotton Bowl winner: Oregon
Orange Bowl winner: Notre Dame
National Champion
Oregon
Breakdown: Every single team in the 12-team field is flawed to some degree. But Oregon feels like the most complete team to me in this bracket. Ohio State got the toughest draw of any team not named Tennessee in the field, and while it arguably has the most talented roster on paper, I can't pick the Buckeyes to win the rematch against Oregon in good conscience unless the offensive line looks miles better than what we've seen recently. Will a win against Tennessee and a projected close loss against Oregon be enough to keep Day off the hot seat? We'll see.
On the other side of the bracket, Penn State has a gifted route to the semifinals, and I like Notre Dame's chances against a Carson Beck-less Georgia team. The Fighting Irish should prevail against the Nittany Lions in a close semifinal matchup.
Kyle Jones
First round
Notre Dame vs. Indiana winner: Notre Dame
Penn State vs. SMU winner: Penn State
Texas vs. Clemson winner: Texas
Ohio State vs. Tennessee winner: Ohio State
Quarterfinals
Rose Bowl winner: Ohio State
Peach Bowl winner: Texas
Fiesta Bowl winner: Penn State
Sugar Bowl winner: Notre Dame
Semifinals
Cotton Bowl winner: Texas
Orange Bowl winner: Notre Dame
National Champion
Texas
Breakdown: Every team has shown clear flaws, and the more talented programs emerge victorious as the CFP progresses with the lone exception of Georgia. Carson Beck's elbow injury is serious enough to keep the Dawgs from keeping pace with the other blue bloods, as each of the final four teams rides the strength of its defense. In the end, however, it's the best offensive play-caller that emerges victorious, as Sark finds a way to get past both the Buckeyes and the Irish to claim the Horns' first title in nearly two decades. Meanwhile, big wins over Tennessee and Oregon satiate Ohio State fans enough to take Ryan Day off the hot seat, at least for another season.
Josh Poloha
First round
Notre Dame vs. Indiana winner: Notre Dame
Penn State vs. SMU winner: Penn State
Texas vs. Clemson winner: Texas
Ohio State vs. Tennessee winner: Ohio State
Quarterfinals
Rose Bowl winner: Oregon
Peach Bowl winner: Texas
Fiesta Bowl winner: Penn State
Sugar Bowl winner: Notre Dame
Semifinals
Cotton Bowl winner: Oregon
Orange Bowl winner: Notre Dame
National Champion
Oregon
Breakdown: I would have picked the Buckeyes to upset the Ducks in the rematch (much like I predicted Ohio State to do in the Big Ten Championship game prior to the season), but season-ending injuries to Josh Simmons and Seth McLaughlin — OSU's two best offensive linemen — will be too much to overcome against a stout Oregon team. Dan Lanning's team has proven all season that they are the best team in the country and that will carry over to the CFP. Notre Dame, meanwhile, will take down Georgia on its way to the national championship game because of questions surrounding Carson Beck's availability.
Ramzy Nasrallah
First round
Notre Dame vs. Indiana winner: Indiana
Penn State vs. SMU winner: SMU
Texas vs. Clemson winner: Clemson
Ohio State vs. Tennessee winner: Ohio State
Quarterfinals
Rose Bowl winner: Ohio State
Peach Bowl winner: Arizona State
Fiesta Bowl winner: SMU
Sugar Bowl winner: Indiana
Semifinals
Cotton Bowl winner: Ohio State
Orange Bowl winner: Indiana
National Champion
Ohio State
Breakdown: My only objective in this exercise is having the funniest possible outcome which simultaneously pisses off the most people. Give me the top-right corner of the Hilarious/Angry matrix and Ryan Day challenging the entire state of Ohio to a fight while covered in confetti.
Andy Anders
First round
Notre Dame vs. Indiana winner: Notre Dame
Penn State vs. SMU winner: Penn State
Texas vs. Clemson winner: Texas
Ohio State vs. Tennessee winner: Ohio State
Quarterfinals
Rose Bowl winner: Oregon
Peach Bowl winner: Texas
Fiesta Bowl winner: Penn State
Sugar Bowl winner: Georgia
Semifinals
Cotton Bowl winner: Oregon
Orange Bowl winner: Georgia
National Champion
Oregon
Breakdown: Though I'm picking two lower seeds in the quarterfinals, those lower seeds will likely be favorites, so this is really an all-chalk bracket. Oregon has been the most complete team in football all season, and I think its potential quarterfinal matchup with Ohio State is the toughest game the Ducks will see. I'm not high on anyone on the right side of the bracket (Georgia, Boise State, Penn State, Notre Dame, Indiana and SMU) but I think Georgia's defense can propel it through even without Carson Beck.
Dan Hope
First round
Notre Dame vs. Indiana winner: Notre Dame
Penn State vs. SMU winner: Penn State
Texas vs. Clemson winner: Texas
Ohio State vs. Tennessee winner: Ohio State
Quarterfinals
Rose Bowl winner: Oregon
Peach Bowl winner: Texas
Fiesta Bowl winner: Boise State
Sugar Bowl winner: Notre Dame
Semifinals
Cotton Bowl winner: Oregon
Orange Bowl winner: Notre Dame
National Champion
Oregon
Breakdown: If Ohio State and Oregon were on opposite sides of the bracket, I’d probably have them meeting in the national championship game. Alas, only one of them can advance beyond the quarterfinals, and while I was initially confident that the Buckeyes could win a rematch with the Ducks after their one-point loss to Oregon in Eugene, I’m less confident now that the Buckeyes have lost their two best offensive linemen.
The Ducks don’t have an easy path to the national championship game, as I believe Ohio State and Texas pose bigger threats to Oregon than anyone on the other side of the bracket with Georgia quarterback Carson Beck expected to miss the CFP. But Dan Lanning’s squad has been the best team in college football all season and I believe they have what it takes – though they’ll need to play better defense than they did against Penn State – to win their first-ever national championship this year.
George Eisner
First round
Notre Dame vs. Indiana winner: Notre Dame
Penn State vs. SMU winner: Penn State
Texas vs. Clemson winner: Texas
Ohio State vs. Tennessee winner: Ohio State
Quarterfinals
Rose Bowl winner: Oregon
Peach Bowl winner: Texas
Fiesta Bowl winner: Boise State
Sugar Bowl winner: Notre Dame
Semifinals
Cotton Bowl winner: Oregon
Orange Bowl winner: Notre Dame
National Champion
Oregon
Breakdown: Oregon probably gets its toughest remaining test from an Ohio State rematch, but I still believe the Ducks have enough horsepower on both sides of the ball to push themselves over the finish line against anyone. Notre Dame could be an early out to Indiana, but if Marcus Freeman survives that fierce in-state battle, I expect him to go on a run given the Irish find themselves on the weaker side of the bracket.
