As its finally week 1, I wanted to put together a story on the playoff. By now you know the ins and outs of the 12-team field, and its rules, but I thought it would be fun to actually find out who everyone thinks will make the playoff. This is the new bracketology and a search for a perfect bracket shouldn’t be that hard…right? Maybe it’s housed in this article right here. Thanks to our respondents in the audience who sent us their picks, enjoy and share your comments on them below.

Panel Picks

First up is our panel of Nick, Tyler, Sean and Mike. The gang seems to be mostly on the same page in the picks department, give or take some seeding changes. Sean is high on Wyoming representing the group of six schools, while Tyler is head for Sin City with the Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV. Mike is all in on Texas State pulling a surprise and Nick still has a soft spot for the Blue Turf in Boise. NC State is a recurring theme here, despite their ugly win on Thursday night and Oregon and Ohio State are locks per the panel’s picks. We’ll revisit this as the season progresses.

Audience Picks

Now it’s time for audience’s contributions. Friend of the pod Austin is standing by the Seminoles despite their week 1 loss and is bullish on the Buckeyes in the BIG 10. Meanwhile Emmett is feeling an appearance by Temple at the backend of the bracket and could see a path for a Michigan repeat in 2025. Derek likes Liberty to represent the group of six and feels like a bounce back season is on the cards for Clemson. Mike F is right there with Derek backing Clemson to get their act together under Dabo…despite his aversion to the transfer portal. Meanwhile social media coordinator Bri was sure to work her Ole Miss Rebels in there, along with a resurgent USC squad. In fairness to my better half, she actually went to school in Oxford, which gives her a leg up on all of us “fans.”

That does it for the picks, keep them coming folks, as we love the engagement here at the breakdown. More importantly, its the first Saturday of the season, so put your feet up, pop a cold one and enjoy the games!

You can find Nick on Twitter @YNWA9623, Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our fall of podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. The store is live and Little Ed has been in the lab cooking up some can’t miss items for you fans. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon!