College Football Playoff sleepers: 13 unranked teams to watch

By The Athletic College FootballAug 9, 2024College football’s postseason enters a new era in 2024 with the arrival of the 12-team College Football Playoff, featuring automatic bids for the five top-ranked conference champions plus seven at-large selections. The bracket intrigue will only build throughout the fall, but one thing’s for sure: More teams will have a realistic shot to play for a national title than ever before.AdvertisementBut how many more? It’s assumed many of the nation’s elite programs will play their way into the top 12 most years, but the expanded field leaves room for a number of surprises, especially in the first year of a new system. Below, The Athletic’s college football writers make their picks for this season’s most enticing sleeper College Football Playoff teams. Programs ranked in the preseason Coaches Poll and voted atop their league’s preseason media poll were excluded from consideration.Virginia TechThis might be the Hokies’ best team since Frank Beamer ret...