**Weekend Chaos Shakes Up College Football Playoff Predictions**

Week 13 of the 2024 college football season delivered a slew of upsets, with seven ranked teams, including five within the top 15, experiencing losses that likely dashed their College Football Playoff aspirations. In the wake of these dramatic events, ESPN's Heather Dinich provided her own forecast for the College Football Playoff bracket, reflecting the fluctuating landscape.

Dinich prefaced her predictions with a crucial reminder to fans, noting that her projections are not meant to predict the ultimate Selection Day outcomes. Instead, they offer a current snapshot based on teams' performances to date and the evaluation criteria established by the playoff committee. Additionally, the final seeding for the 12-team playoff will differ, as the top four highest-ranked conference champions earn byes, and the top five conference champions secure entry into the field.

According to Dinich's projections, Oregon, Texas, Miami, and Boise State top the bracket as the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4 seeds respectively, each having clinched their conference championships and therefore receiving first-round byes.

The predicted first-round matchups are as follows:
- No. 12 Arizona State (Big 12 champ) will face No. 5 Ohio State
- No. 11 Indiana will go up against No. 6 Penn State
- No. 10 SMU will clash with No. 7 Notre Dame
- No. 9 Tennessee will take on No. 8 Georgia

These intense matchups set the stage for equally compelling quarterfinal contests:
- The winner of No. 12 Arizona State vs. No. 5 Ohio State would compete against No. 4 Boise State
- The victor of No. 11 Indiana vs. No. 6 Penn State would meet No. 3 Miami
- The team that prevails in the No. 10 SMU vs. No. 7 Notre Dame game would battle No. 2 Texas
- The winner of No. 9 Tennessee vs. No. 8 Georgia would go head-to-head with No. 1 Oregon

As the season hurtles toward its conclusion, these projected matchups offer a tantalizing glimpse of the potential twists and turns that could define the path to the College Football Playoff.