We're tracking perfect brackets for the College Football Playoff
💯 Only 12.9 percent of brackets are still perfect after the first round
Only 12.9 percent of brackets went 4 for 4 in the first round in krikya18.com's College Football Bracket Challenge Game.
The road teams won the first two games — No. 9 Alabama and No. 10 Miami (Fla.) — before home teams No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 5 Oregon dominated to set the stage for the quarterfinals. That round begins Wednesday, Dec. 31 when
Here's how we got to this point:
- No. 9 Alabama def. No. 8 Oklahoma — 52 percent remain perfect
- No. 10 Miami (Fla.) def. No. 7 Texas A&M — 16.8 percent remain perfect
- No. 6 Ole Miss def. No. 11 Tulane — 13.7 percent remain perfect
- No. 5 Oregon def. No. 12 James Madison — 12.9 percent remain perfect
Perfect brackets plummet to 17 percent after Miami's win
We're only two games in, but we're already down to under 17 percent of perfect brackets left in krikya18.com's College Football Bracket Challenge Game.
No. 10 Miami's 10-3 win at No. 7 Texas A&M took out around 2/3 of the remaining perfect brackets going into Saturday's final two games. Here's how we got here:
- No. 9 Alabama def. No. 8 Oklahoma: 52 percent remaining
- No. 10 Miami def. No. 7 Texas A&M: 16.8 percent remaining
You can check out how your bracket is doing by clicking or tapping here.
We're down to around 50 percent perfect brackets
When the first game is a tough-to-decide No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup, that's going to lead to some busted brackets.
No. 9 Alabama's rally from down 17 to top No. 8 Oklahoma 34-24 took out around half of the brackets in krikya18.com's College Football Bracket Challenge Game as we track perfect CFP brackets.
With the other three first round games set for Saturday, we'll see how many brackets can go 4 for 4 going into the quarterfinals. If any of the road teams win, that'll deliver a brutal blow, as the home teams were picked at impressive rates:
- No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami (Fla.): Texas A&M picked on 69.71 percent of brackets
- No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 Tulane: No. 6 Ole Miss picked on 87.38 percent of brackets
- No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 James Madison: No. 5 Oregon picked on 93.18 percent of brackets
🔒 Brackets are LOCKED. Here's how the nation picked
No more waiting. The College Football Playoff is underway. That means brackets are locked in krikya18.com's College Football Bracket Challenge Game.
So, how did people fill out their brackets?
No. 1 seed Indiana was the most popular champ pick, winning it all on 28.11 percent of entries. That comes in just ahead of No. 2 Ohio State (25.33) and further ahead of No. 3 Georgia (21.67) Throw in No. 4 Texas Tech's 7.04 percent and that means a little more than 82 percent of brackets had one of the top four seeds — the teams that have byes — winning it all.
Here's the full rundown:
| Team | PERCENT PICKED TO WIN TITLE |
|---|---|
| No. 1 Indiana | 28.11% |
| No. 2 Ohio State | 25.33% |
| No. 3 Georgia | 21.67% |
| No. 4 Texas Tech | 7.04% |
| No. 5 Oregon | 4.82% |
| No. 9 Alabama | 3.55% |
| No. 7 Texas A&M | 3.01% |
| No. 6 Ole Miss | 1.68% |
| No. 8 Oklahoma | 1.61% |
| No. 10 Miami (Fla.) | 1.54% |
| No. 12 James Madison | 1.15% |
| No. 11 Tulane | 0.48% |
Looking at the first round, one matchup was split almost down the middle: No. 8 Oklahoma hosting No. 9 Alabama. The Sooners beat the Crimson Tide earlier this season — and did it in Tuscaloosa — but a slight majority of brackets have Alabama winning the rematch: 50.39 to 49.61 percent. That was also by far the closest first round game when it came to filling out brackets:
- No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Alabama: Alabama wins on 50.39 percent of brackets
- No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami (Fla.): Texas A&M wins on 69.71 percent of brackets
- No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 Tulane: No. 6 Ole Miss wins on 87.38 percent of brackets
- No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 James Madison: No. 5 Oregon wins on 93.18 percent of brackets
Now that brackets are set, we'll see how many people can go 11 for 11 and get a perfect bracket — which is certainly much less daunting than needing to go 63 for 63 for a perfect March Madness bracket.
How the nation is picking now
Brackets don't lock until Friday night, but we do have data on how people are filling out their College Football Playoff Bracket game brackets.
- No. 1 Indiana is the most popular champ pick, winning it all on 28.44 percent of brackets
- No. 2 Ohio State is next at 25.02, followed by No. 3 Georgia with 21.36
But what about the first round? As expected, the No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Alabama game is the closest game by far, with Alabama barely getting picked more than OU. Here are the numbers as of Tuesday:
| First round matchup | Pick % |
|---|---|
| No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 James Madison | Oregon, 92.99% |
| No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 Tulane | Ole Miss, 87.10% |
| No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami (Fla.) | Texas A&M, 69.37% |
| No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Alabama | Alabama, 50.22% |
And here is the national champion pick percentage for all 12 CFP teams:
| Team | % picked to win title |
|---|---|
| No. 1 Indiana | 28.44% |
| No. 2 Ohio State | 25.02% |
| No. 3 Georgia | 21.36% |
| No. 4 Texas Tech | 7.14% |
| No. 5 Oregon | 4.75% |
| No. 9 Alabama | 3.60% |
| No. 7 Texas A&M | 2.99% |
| No. 6 Ole Miss | 1.73% |
| No. 8 Oklahoma | 1.63% |
| No. 10 Miami (Fla.) | 1.59% |
| No. 12 James Madison | 1.26% |
| No. 11 Tulane | 0.51% |
🚨 Fill out your College Football brackets NOW 🚨
There's still time to make your picks in krikya18.com's College Football Bracket Challenge Game!
You have until brackets lock at kick off of the No. 8 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 Alabama game at 8 p.m. this Friday, Dec. 19. Click or tap here to make your picks.
Once brackets lock and the games begin, we'll be tracking how many brackets have correctly predicted the winners of each game.
Complete CFP schedule
The College Football Playoff begins with first round games on Friday, Dec. 19 and Saturday, Dec. 20. The top four seeds — Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia and Texas Tech — have byes into the quarterfinals.
- First round (Dec. 19-20)
- Friday, Dec. 19
- Saturday, Dec. 20:
- Quarterfinals (Dec. 31-Jan. 1)
- Wednesday, Dec. 31
- Thursday, Jan. 1
- No. 4 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Oregon/No. 12 James Madison winner | Orange Bowl | 12 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
- No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 8 Oklahoma/No. 9 Alabama winner | Rose Bowl | 4 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
- No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 6 Ole Miss/No. 11 Tulane winner | Sugar Bowl | 8 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
- Semifinals (Jan. 8-9)
- Thursday, Jan. 8
- Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Ariz.) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
- Friday, Jan. 9
- Peach Bowl (Atlanta) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
- Thursday, Jan. 8
- College Football Playoff National Championship Game
- Monday, Jan. 19
- Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
- Monday, Jan. 19
How the CFP ended last year
The 2024-25 season was the first in the 12-team College Football Playoff era. Oregon started the CFP as the undefeated No. 1 seed, but No. 8 Ohio State won four games — including a rout of the Ducks in the Rose Bowl — to win the title.
Here's a look at every game:
- First round (Dec. 20-21)
- Friday, Dec. 20: No. 7 Notre Dame 27, No. 10 Indiana 17
- Saturday, Dec. 21: No. 6 Penn State 38, No. 11 SMU 10
- Saturday, Dec. 21: No. 5 Texas 38, No. 12 Clemson 24
- Saturday, Dec. 21: No. 8 Ohio State 42, No. 9 Tennessee 17
- Quarterfinals (Dec. 31-Jan. 1)
- Fiesta Bowl: No. 6 Penn State 31, No. 3 Boise State 14
- Peach Bowl: No. 5 Texas 39, No. 4 Arizona State 31 (2OT)
- Rose Bowl: No. 8 Ohio State 41, No. 1 Oregon 21
- Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Notre Dame 23, No. 2 Georgia 10
- Semifinals (Jan. 9-10)
- Orange Bowl: No. 7 Notre Dame 27, No. 6 Penn State 24
- Cotton Bowl: No. 8 Ohio State 28, No. 5 Texas 14
- CFP National Championship
- No. 8 Ohio State 34, No. 7 Notre Dame 23 (Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta)