For the first time, the College Football Playoff will feature 12 teams instead of four like it has in the past. This gives more FBS teams an opportunity to compete for a national championship in the postseason.
Now that conference championship games are over, who will ultimately make that 12-team field?
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CFP Bracket Predictions
I predict Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, and Arizona State will be the four teams in the College Football Playoff with a first-round bye.
I project the conference championship winner ranked the next highest will be Clemson, and I believe the CFP Selection Committee will rank the Tigers at No. 12.
From there, I’m projecting Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Tennessee, Indiana, and SMU will be in the CFP.
College Playoff Rankings
The College Football Playoff Selection Committee released its latest rankings on Tuesday, Dec. 3. So if the season had ended last week, the teams in the CFP would’ve been:
- No. 1 Oregon
- No. 2 Texas
- No. 3 Penn State
- No. 4 Notre Dame
- No. 5 Georgia
- No. 6 Ohio State
- No. 7 Tennessee
- No. 8 SMU
- No. 9 Indiana
- No. 10 Boise State
- No. 11 Alabama
- No. 15 Arizona State
2025 CFP Playoff National Championship Predictions
I predict Texas will play Oregon in the College Football Playoff championship with Texas winning.
Right now, I think the Longhorns, no matter who’s at quarterback, are the best squad in college football. And I believe that even after their losses to Georgia.
From my perspective, Texas and Oregon are the most complete teams and would be the most prepared to make it through a daunting CFP bracket.
2024 CFP Selection Show Schedule
The College Football Playoff Selection Show will be at noon ET on Sunday, Dec. 8, on ESPN.
New 12 Team College Football Playoff
The College Football Playoff will feature 12 teams for the first time this season.
The five highest-ranked conference champions in the FBS – decided by the CFP Selection Committee – will make up the field, as well as the seven highest-ranked teams that didn’t win a conference title.
The four conference title winners ranked the highest will earn a bye, while the remaining squads will compete in the first round.
The higher seeds in those matchups will host in the first round. The top-four conference winners with the bye will be given a bowl game, like the Sugar Bowl, and the four teams playing in the two semifinal games will also be assigned to another bowl.
Re-seeding will not occur, nor will alterations be made to avoid rematches from the regular season or contests between teams in the same conference.
2024-2025 College Football Playoff Schedule
The first round of the CFP will be played on Friday, Dec. 20, and Saturday, Dec. 21. The CFP quarterfinals will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 31, and Wednesday, Jan. 1. The CFP semifinals will occur on Thursday, Jan. 9, and Friday, Jan. 10.
In the first round, the No. 12-seeded team will play at the No. 5-seeded team. The No. 9 team will go on the road to face the No. 8 team. The No. 11 team will travel to take on the No. 6 team. And the No. 10 team will compete at the No. 7 team.
The winner of the 5/12 matchup will play the No. 4-seeded team in the quarterfinals. Whoever wins the 8/9 contest will go against the top-seeded team. The victor in the 6/11 contest will next face the No. 3 team. And whoever is triumphant in the 7/10 bout will compete against the No. 2-seeded team.
The winners of the games involving the No. 1-seeded team and the No. 4-seeded team will square off in the semifinals, and the winner of the games involving the No. 3-seeded team and the No. 2-seeded team will also play in the semifinals.
The victor of those two contests will see each other in the national championship.
