Heather Dinich, ESPN Senior Writer 3d

College Football Playoff 2024: Week 12 bubble watch

College Football, Oregon Ducks, Texas Longhorns, Miami Hurricanes, Boise State Broncos, Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Indiana Hoosiers, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Alabama Crimson Tide, Ole Miss Rebels, Georgia Bulldogs, BYU Cougars, Tennessee Volunteers, SMU Mustangs, Colorado Buffaloes, Clemson Tigers, Arizona State Sun Devils, Texas A&M Aggies, Iowa State Cyclones, South Carolina Gamecocks, Tulane Green Wave, Army Black Knights, UNLV Rebels, Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

For all of the talk about the 12-team College Football Playoff being a borderline SEC-Big Ten invitational, consider that one-loss Boise State is now in the same club as Oregon, Texas and Miami -- in position to earn a first-round bye as one of the four highest-ranked conference champions.

This 13-member CFP selection committee has placed a premium on who teams lost to as well as who they beat, and Boise State's narrow loss to No. 1 Oregon looks far better than BYU's recent upset defeat to six-loss Kansas.

What does that mean for the Big 12? And is there anything Georgia can do to move up if a win against Tennessee didn't do it?

Here are three lessons learned from the third ranking, followed by a look at eight more teams who could play their way in and how the Group of 5 race stacks up.

Jump to a topic:
What we learned
Last two in | First four out
Next four out | Group of 5

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