College Football Playoff Bracket if the 2023 Season Ended Today

• Here is what the college football playoff bracket would look like today.
• Georgia, Michigan, Florida State, and Texas are the top four teams as of today (September 12, 2023).

The 2023 college football season is underway, and there have been some huge results already. Texas went into Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and beat the Alabama Crimson Tide, a win that will be difficult for anyone in the country to top this season. Florida State has notched a huge neutral site win over LSU and appears poised for a run at a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Several teams have good college football championship odds, which will change significantly over the year.

Here’s how the playoff would look if the season ended today.

College Football Playoff Bracket

The first semifinal would pit the No. 1 team in the country and the defending champions, Georgia Bulldogs, against the No. 4 Texas Longhorns in the Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs have easily dispatched two inferior opponents, winning 48-7 in week one and 45-3 in week two against Ball State. It is difficult to take anything definitive from the opening two weeks for Georgia, but one concern has been the lack of an effective run game. Against Ball State, Georgia only averaged 3.5 yards per rush on 28 rushing attempts. The Bulldogs play South Carolina in Athens on Saturday, so we might learn more about the back-to-back champions this weekend. After a gigantic win over Alabama, Texas vaults up to No. 4 in the rankings and a spot in the Sugar Bowl. The Longhorns appear to have everything you want in a team. Quinn Ewers is making great decisions and is finally connecting on deep passes, the offensive line looks terrific, Xavier Worthy leads an excellent group of wide receivers, and the defense is good enough. Texas hosts Wyoming and Kansas and plays at Baylor before the October 7 clash against Oklahoma.

The other semifinal would pit the Michigan Wolverines against the Florida State Seminoles in Pasadena. Like Georgia, Michigan is 2-0 and has comfortably taken care of two vastly inferior opponents. The Wolverines have talent at every level, and the Michigan coaching staff has said they could have nearly 30 players drafted in the upcoming NFL Draft. Unfortunately, we will not know what Michigan offers until possibly October 7, when they travel to Minnesota. Their opponent would be the No. 3 Florida State Seminoles. They followed up the great win over LSU with a dominant performance over Southern Mississippi. Jordan Travis is in full command of the offense, and Keon Coleman appears to be a significant difference-maker at wide receiver. The biggest difference for this team might be on the lines of scrimmage, as the offensive and defensive lines have taken significant leaps forward over the past two seasons. Florida State travels to Chestnut Hill to play a woeful Boston College team before a September 23 game at Clemson.

Week 3 is light on marquee matchups that will directly impact the playoff picture. No. 8 Washington travels to Michigan State, and No. 7 Penn State will get a potential test at Illinois. For the most part, Week 3 is about avoiding upsets for the top ten squads ahead of a massive week four slate.

When is the 2023 College Football Playoff?

The semifinals will occur at the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day. The first contest will begin at 5:00 p.m. ET, and the second game will kick off at 8:45 p.m. ET so that you can ring in the New Year with the four best teams in the country. The semifinal winners will battle for the National Championship on January 8, 2023.