The 2024-25 college football season is the first time we’ll have a 12-team playoff format. During the season, the selection committee ranks the top 25 teams and then makes the bracket based on that ranking.
The four highest-ranked conference champions receive byes into the quarterfinals, with the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion getting in automatically (though without a bye). Let’s take a look at how that bracket would look, using ONLY the committee’s latest top 25 rankings (revealed Nov. 19). This is not a projected look at how the final bracket could look — only how the bracket looks now using the committee’s own rankings.
2024-25 College Football Playoff bracket
This bracket uses the committee’s top 25 rankings on Tuesday, Nov. 19. It’s important to note that the top 25 ranking does not always match the seed in the playoff, as the four highest-ranked conference champions receive the top four seeds, no matter where those four teams rank in the top 25.
You can see how those numbers — the seed and the CFP ranking — differ below. The four teams with byes are in bold:
- Oregon — highest-ranked conference champion (Big Ten) and seeded No. 1
- Ohio State — at-large pick (second team from the Big Ten), seeded No. 5
- Texas — second-highest-ranked conference champion (SEC) and seeded No. 2
- Penn State — at-large pick (third team in the Big Ten), seeded No. 6
- Indiana — at-large pick (fourth team from the Big Ten), seeded No. 7
- Notre Dame — at-large pick (independent), seeded No. 8
- Alabama — at-large pick (second team from the SEC), seeded No. 9
- Miami (Fla.) — third-highest-ranked conference champion (ACC) and seeded No. 3
- Ole Miss — at-large pick (third team from the SEC), seeded No. 10
- Georgia — at-large pick (fourth team from the SEC), seeded No. 11
- Tennessee — first team out of the CFP bracket
- Boise State — fourth-highest-ranked conference champion (Mountain West) and seeded No. 4
- SMU — second team out of the CFP bracket
- BYU — fifth-highest-ranked conference champion (Big 12), seeded 12
Boise State, which has lost to only top-ranked Oregon, is now the fourth-highest-ranked conference champion and thus would receive a bye into the quarterfinals. BYU lost last week, and while the Cougars are the fifth AQ, the Cougars fell behind Boise State in the rankings.
Tennessee and SMU, ranked Nos. 11 and 13 in the committee’s rankings, are the first two out, as No. 14 BYU is in automatically as the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion.
The next CFP top 25 rankings will be out Tuesday, Nov. 26.
College Football Playoff bracket matchups
With the four highest-ranked conference champions receiving the top four seeds and thus byes, the remaining eight teams in the bracket meet in the first round. Here are those games, played a campus sites on Dec. 20 or Dec. 21:
- (12 seed) BYU at (5) Ohio State — winner plays (4) Boise State in the quarterfinals
- (11) Georgia at (6) Penn State — winner plays (3) Miami (Fla.) in the quarterfinals
- (10) Ole Miss at (7) Indiana — winner plays (2) Texas in the quarterfinals
- (9) Alabama at (8) Notre Dame — winner plays (1) Oregon in the quarterfinals
There is no re-seeding once the official bracket is revealed on Sunday, Dec. 8.
The four quarterfinal games are not played at the campus sites. Instead, these four games — scheduled on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 — will be played at the Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The four highest-ranked conference champions will be assigned one of these bowls in consideration of historic bowl relationships as well as seeding.
The four quarterfinal winners will then meet in the semifinals at either the Orange Bowl or the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10. If the seeds hold, that means (1) would meet (4) and (2) would play (3). The two semifinal winners will then play on Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for the national championship.
