B/R Experts' November Bold Predictions for College Football

It's hard to believe that we are entering the November stretch of the 2024 college football season. But as we enter the final regular-season month of the year, it's time for College Football Playoff rankings, contests with true conference-title-game implications and, of course, Rivalry Week.

Bleacher Report's college football expert panel consisting of David Kenyon, Joel Reuter, Brad Shepard and Morgan Moriarty have put together some bold predictions for November.

From Washington State creating chaos in the playoff, a surprise SMU run and Colorado's path to the Big 12 title game, it's time for our B/R experts' bold predictions for the month of November.

Reuter: Washington State Will Complicate the Playoff Picture

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Washington State Cougars head coach Jake Dickert

The collapse of the Pac-12 has created an interesting situation for Washington State in its pursuit of a spot in this year's expanded playoff field.

One of two teams left standing—alongside Oregon State—in the shell that was once the Pac-12 Conference, the Cougars are not afforded a path into the playoffs by way of winning their conference since there will not be a Pac-12 championship game this year.

The five highest-ranked conference champions all earn an automatic bid into the playoff field, alongside seven at-large selections, and Washington State will need to secure one of those final seven spots if it hopes to play for a national championship.

With a 7-1 record, the Cougars have put together a solid resume, and their lone loss came on the road against a Boise State team in the driver's seat for the Group of Five spot in the 12-team field.

While they do not have a win over a ranked opponent, they did beat Texas Tech and Washington in back-to-back weeks during non-conference play before facing off against Mountain West foes in their equivalent of a conference slate.

Dual-threat quarterback John Mateer has 2,153 passing yards and 18 touchdowns through the air, and he is also the team's leading rusher with 575 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground. He has done an admirable job filling the big shoes left behind when Cam Ward entered the transfer portal, and the Cougars jumped into the AP poll for the first time ahead of Week 10 in the No. 22 spot.

There is an inevitable level of cannibalization that is going to happen in conference play over the next few weeks, and the more teams that suffer their second loss between now and the conclusion of the regular season, the harder it is going to be to overlook Washington State if the Cougars win out and finish 11-1 on the year.

Shepard: SMU Will Shock Everyone and Crash the Playoff

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Southern Methodist Mustangs running back Brashard Smith

If you haven't heard of the ACC's tiebreaker system yet, it's pretty gross. Basically, since Clemson, Miami and SMU don't play, if they all wind up undefeated in league play, the conference championship game participants will be determined by which teams' opponents have the highest combined winning percentage.

What a mess.

What folks aren't talking about is the team that could stand to benefit the most given the array of scenarios, and that's coach Rhett Lashlee's Mustangs.

You may think this is a bizarre take considering SMU stands to be the team left out of the equation if all three win out. Here's the thing: Lashlee's team arguably has the easiest path to a spotless ACC record the rest of the way, with Boston College, Virginia and Cal remaining.

Clemson's 33-21 loss to Louisville puts the Mustangs ahead of the Tigers in the ACC standings. Clemson still has to play Virginia Tech, Pitt, The Citadel and South Carolina. Miami plays Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Syracuse.

So, if the Mustangs win out and undefeated Miami falters, Lashlee's team will be able to prove they're the best in the conference in their first year on the field.

But it may actually be better if they don't make the ACC title game. If that happens, the loser of the extra game could have two losses, in which case an idle SMU could sit at home and watch and be the beneficiary of an at-large bid into the 12-team playoff.

SMU looked far from world-beaters in an overtime escape against Duke, but this team can score points, and they are improving on defense. They certainly are good enough to win out and upset either the Tigers or Hurricanes in the title game. Since we're being bold here, the gamble here is SMU wins out and hops into the College Football Playoff, one way or another.

Kenyon: Colorado Will Make the Big 12 Title Game

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Shedeur Sanders talks with Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes

Back in Week 2, the early Colorado hype quieted in a hurry.

Nebraska completely shut down the CU offense, limiting quarterback Sheduer Sanders to just 6.4 yards per attempt and making the Buffs' running game a non-factor. Given that Nebraska opened the season with modest expectations, the 28-10 margin showed Colorado had much to improve in Deion Sanders' second year.

However, it appears the Buffs have closed that gap faster than expected. Most importantly, the defense is no longer a sieve. After the unit surrendered 36.3 points per game in Pac-12 matchups last season, Big 12 opponents have managed 22.6 per night. Colorado's issues ran much deeper than the defense in 2023, but expecting the offense to score 40-plus points to have a shot at winning wasn't exactly a great strategy.

Thanks to that progression—along with Sanders and Heisman Trophy candidate Travis Hunter, yes—CU holds a 6-2 record with a 4-1 mark as November begins. The schedule has already worked out nicely for Colorado, and the final month is favorable, too. Plus, after Texas Tech upset Kansas State in Week 10, the Buffs' conference loss to K-State won't be a factor in tiebreakers if they win out. Playing at Texas Tech should be tough, yet if CU wins there, the closing run of Utah, Kansas and Oklahoma State is not daunting.

I have, without question, been late to hop on the CU hype train. Between the defense's rise, an appealing November slate and a little bit of recent help elsewhere, though, the Buffs are a genuine contender to make the Big 12 Championship Game.

Moriarty: Georgia's Probably Losing at Least Another Game, Jeopardizing Playoff Hopes

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Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart and Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck

Do let the 34-20 final score fool you—Georgia's win over Florida was much closer than the two-touchdown margin might let on. The Gators entered the game with multiple starters on both sides of the ball out with injuries.

During the game, Florida star quarterback DJ Lagway left with what head coach Billy Napier called a "pretty significant" hamstring injury. If it wasn't for a late fourth-quarter pick by Aidan Warner—Florida's third-string quarterback and a preferred walk-on—the Gators had a real chance to pull off the upset.

Sure, a win is a win, but this game exposed some massive flaws for the Dawgs, which have to play at Ole Miss next week and face Tennessee at home the following week. Georgia likely has to beat the Rebels if it wants to play in the SEC Championship Game. ESPN's FPI predictor gives Ole Miss a 53.9 percent chance of beating the Dawgs. A loss there likely means Georgia's only hope to win a CFP bid is by beating Tennessee at home on Nov. 16.

Georgia Tech has struggled in consecutive losses to Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, but the Yellowjackets should play up for the rivalry game.

If Georgia plays like it did against Florida, losses to Ole Miss and Tennessee seem pretty likely. The key to avoiding that? Georgia playing like it did against Texas. Quarterback Carson Beck likely has to get control of his turnover problems to help Georgia do that.

I have a feeling we'll see more of the most recent version of Georgia against Ole Miss and Tennessee, which could put the Dawgs' playoff chances in major jeopardy.

Kramer: Boise State Will Push for a First-Round Playoff Bye

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BOISE, ID - NOVEMBER 01: Running back Ashton Jeanty #2 of the Boise State Broncos warms the crowd up prior to the start of the first half between the Boise State Broncos and the San Diego State Aztecs at Albertsons Stadium on November 1, 2024 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Loren Orr/Getty Images)

While we've spent ample time exploring the various College Football Playoff scenarios, we haven't exactly poured our heart and soul into this one. And to be clear, no scenario would change the way we perceive this new postseason quite like this.

The expanded playoff will award a bye to the four highest ranked conference champions. Although it has been assumed that these would be teams from the SEC, Big Ten, ACC and Big 12, the Broncos could change that.

A weird stretch in the Big 12 suddenly has the Broncos positioned, with a few more losses inside or around the Big 12, to make things weird. More help is probably needed, although more help is probably coming.

On the Boise side, the path is clear. Games against Nevada, San Jose State, Wyoming and Oregon State remain, and Boise State is likely to win those. If it can win a conference championship the following week, perhaps matching up against UNLV once again, the Broncos could finish the season with one loss.

That loss was a hard-fought defeat against Oregon, and it'll look plenty fine on the resume.

Win out. That's the most important piece of this puzzle. Boise State could push itself into an exceptional spot in the first year of this format if it does just that.

Oh, and a Heisman for Ashton Jeanty, the team's star workhorse, could follow shortly after.