12-team 2024 College Football Playoff rankings prediction after Week 5

Another week is in the books and we are one step closer to that ever-exciting 12-team College Football Playoff, the first of its kind which will take place in 2024.

Before the field was expanded to 12, fans had a fairly good idea of which four teams had the best chance to make the playoff. Now, it feels like anyone who happens to be in the AP Top 25 midway through the year has a shot.

All four Power Four conference champions will guarantee themselves a spot and a top-four seed while the final eight spots will be occupied by at-larges as well as the top-ranked Group of Five team.

While we're still weeks away from the first College Football Playoff rankings of the new 12-team era, it's always fun to sit down and look at what it might resemble earlier in the year. What might the College Football Playoff field look like heading into Week 6?

Here are my projections:

I would love nothing more than to exclude the Big 12 from the top four because, well, it doesn't feel like any team really deserves to be there. Utah was my top Big 12 team last week but then it lost to Arizona at home this past weekend. Michigan, too, should probably fall out, but I'd have a tough time picking a team to replace them (maybe Clemson?).

Boise State has been one of the biggest surprises this year and it might just have the Heisman front-runner in Ashton Jeanty who is already approaching 1,000 yards after just four games -- the Ducks saw him dominate firsthand.

Oregon is right in the mix at No. 8, moving up one spot from last week after beating UCLA.