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 sets 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. 5). 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. 5. 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 differ in the bracket:
FULL TOP 25: The CFP selection committee's complete rankings
Here's a look at how the bracket is made up using the committee's top 25 rankings. The four teams with byes are in bold:
- Oregon — highest-ranked conference champion (Big Ten) and seeded No. 1
- Ohio State — at-large pick (behind Oregon in the Big Ten), seeded No. 5
- Georgia — second-highest-ranked conference champion (SEC) and seeded No. 2
- Miami (Fla.) — third-highest-ranked conference champion (ACC) and seeded No. 3
- Texas — at-large pick (behind Georgia in the SEC), seeded No. 6
- Penn State — at-large pick (third team from the Big Ten), seeded No. 7
- Tennessee — at-large pick (third team from the SEC), seeded No. 8
- Indiana — at-large pick (fourth team from the Big Ten), seeded No. 9
- BYU — fourth-highest-ranked conference champion (Big 12) and seeded No. 4
- Notre Dame — at-large pick (independent), seeded No. 10
- Alabama — final at-large pick (fourth team from the SEC), seeded No. 11
- Boise State — fifth-highest-ranked conference champion (Mountain West) and seeded No. 12
Boise State, which has lost to only Oregon, is only three spots away from being the fourth-highest-ranked conference champion instead of BYU and getting the No. 4 seed and receiving the bye.
SMU, ranked No. 13 in the committee's rankings, is the first team out. Texas A&M and LSU round out the top 15.
The next CFP top 25 rankings will be out Tuesday, Nov. 12.
BREAKING IT DOWN: A deeper look at what we know about the first CFP rankings
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) Boise State at (5) Ohio State — winner plays (4) BYU in the quarterfinals
- (11) Alabama at (6) Texas — winner plays (3) Miami in the quarterfinals
- (10) Notre Dame at (7) Penn State — winner plays (2) Georgia in the quarterfinals
- (9) Indiana at (8) Tennessee — 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 in Atlanta for the national championship.
