The wait for the College Football Playoff is almost over.
The first round of CFP games begins on Friday, Dec. 20th, with the remaining three first-round matchups scheduled for the following day. Now is the time to make your predictions.
Which program is going to emerge on top in the first season of the expanded 12-team playoff? Will there be upsets along the way? Our experts at NBC Sports have made their picks. Scroll down to see the full brackets for each of our experts below.
CFP winner prediction for each NBC Sports expert:
Nicole Auerbach: Oregon
Joshua Perry: Oregon
Chris Simms: Texas
Maria Taylor: Georgia
Ahmed Fareed: Oregon
Matt Cassel: Oregon
Jordan Cornette: Notre Dame
Kathryn Tappen: Oregon
Michael Robinson: Penn State
Colt McCoy: Texas
Vaughn Dalzell: Texas
Brad Thomas: Oregon
CFP final four picks for each NBC Sports expert:
Nicole Auerbach: Oregon, Arizona State, Penn State, Notre Dame
Joshua Perry: Oregon, Penn State, Notre Dame, Clemson
Chris Simms: Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, Texas
Maria Taylor: Oregon, Georgia, Texas, Penn State
Ahmed Fareed: Oregon, Georgia, Penn State, Clemson
Matt Cassel: Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, Texas
Jordan Cornette: Oregon, Arizona State, Boise State, Notre Dame
Kathryn Tappen: Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, Texas
Michael Robinson: Georgia, Texas, Penn State, Ohio State
Colt McCoy: Oregon, Georgia, Texas, Penn State
Vaughn Dalzell: Georgia, Texas, Penn State, Ohio State
Brad Thomas: Oregon, Georgia, Texas, Penn State
Nicole Auerbach
Nicole is clearly high on Notre Dame, and she caught up with QB Riley Leonard to discuss the battle for Indiana in the Fighting Irish’s first-round matchup against the Hoosiers. Listen to the full interview below:
