College Football Playoff Bracket: How the 12-Team Field Looks Today
There's already been plenty of debate around the new College Football Playoff bracket with the unveiling of the official field on Dec. 8.
- The final CFP rankings were released Sunday, with Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, and Arizona State earning the top four seeds
- Oregon, Georgia, Ohio State, and Texas lead the college football championship odds
- While not the Heisman Trophy odds favorite, Ashton Jeanty didn't just secure Boise State the G5 playoff spot, but the Broncos earned a bye
- The biggest controversy of the first 12-team playoff is SMU getting in over Alabama, despite the AP Top 25 ranking the Crimson Tide above the Mustangs
Before you start shooting from the hip with your College Football Playoff bracket predictions, make sure you understand the new format.
How the 2025 College Football Playoff bracket works
College Football Playoff team selection
- On Dec. 8 the 12 teams were selected and seeded by the College Football Playoff committee following conference championship weekend
- Five automatic qualifiers (the five highest ranked conference champions)
- Seven at-large bids selected by the CFP selection committee
- Four highest-ranked conference champions receive a first-round bye into the quarterfinals
- Eight remaining teams play based on seeding, with the higher-ranked team playing on its campus or at a location of its choice
- The expanded playoff will not impact the committee's selection criteria
College Football Playoff schedule
- First round (on-campus): Dec. 20 & 21, with No. 12 at No. 5, No. 9 at No. 8, No. 11 at No. 6, and No. 10 at No. 7
- Quarterfinals (Fiesta, Peach, Rose, and Sugar Bowl): Dec. 31 & Jan. 1, with No. 4 vs. winner of No. 12/5, No. 1 vs. winner of No. 9/8, No. 3 vs. winner of No. 11/6, and No. 2 vs. winner of No. 10/7
- Semifinal 1 (Orange Bowl): Jan. 9 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
- Semifinal 2 (Cotton Bowl): Jan. 10 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas
- CFP National Championship: Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta
Printable 2025 College Football Playoff bracket
Click here to download our FREE printable college football playoff bracket.
Final College Football Playoff rankings
Seeding based on final the College Football Playoff rankings, which released on Sunday, Dec. 8.
| Seed | Team | Record | Selection |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon | 13-0 | Big Ten Champion |
| 2 | Georgia | 11-2 | SEC Champion |
| 3 | Boise State | 12-1 | MWC Champion |
| 4 | Arizona State | 11-2 | Big 12 Champion |
| 5 | Texas | 11-2 | At-large |
| 6 | Penn State | 11-2 | At-large |
| 7 | Notre Dame | 11-1 | At-large |
| 8 | Ohio State | 10-2 | At-large |
| 9 | Tennessee | 10-2 | At-large |
| 10 | Indiana | 11-1 | At-large |
| 11 | SMU | 11-2 | At-large |
| 12 | Clemson | 10-3 | ACC Champion |
College Football Playoff first-round matchups for the CFP
| Matchup | Date | Location |
|---|---|---|
| No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 7 Notre Dame | Friday, Dec. 20 (8 p.m. ET) | Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.) |
| No. 11 SMU vs. No. 6 Penn State | Saturday, Dec. 21 (noon ET) | Beaver Stadium (University Park, Pa.) |
| No. 12 Clemson vs. No. 5 Texas | Saturday, Dec. 21 (4 p.m. ET) | DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas) |
| No. 9 Tennessee vs. No. 8 Ohio State | Saturday, Dec. 21 (8 p.m. ET) | Ohio Stadium (Columbus, Ohio) |
How the new 2025 College Football Playoff format works
Unlike the previous iteration of the College Football Playoff, there will be automatic qualifiers in the 12-team playoff - this will stop teams like last year's 13-0 Florida State program that won the ACC Championship from being left out.
The automatic qualifiers will be the five highest-ranked conference champions. So while it's not necessarily the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, and SEC champions that are guaranteed a spot, there's almost no way the CFP Committee would rank two Group of Five champs over a Power Four champ.
Essentially that means the five automatic qualifiers will be the Power Four champs and the highest-ranked G5 champ. The four highest-ranked automatic qualifiers, again likely the P4 champs, will then earn first-round byes. The fifth conference champ and the remaining seven teams that earn at-large bids - selected by the committee - will then be seeded from No. 5 to 12.
The committee will be releasing its selections for the 12-team playoff, along with the seeding, following conference championship weekend on Sunday, Dec. 8. The playoff will then get underway 12 days later with four first-round games.
CFP matchups & schedule
Those eight teams will play at the home stadium or location of the higher seeds choice during the first round. The No. 12-seed will play the No. 5, the No. 11 plays the No. 6, the No. 10 plays the No. 7, and the No. 9 plays the No. 8.
One of those games will be played Friday, Dec. 20 at 8 p.m. ET with the other three the next day - Saturday, Dec. 21 - with games at noon, 4 p.m., and 8 p.m. ET. Two of the first-round games will be broadcast by TNT Sports with every other CFP game being broadcast by ESPN or ABC.
Quarterfinals
The quarterfinals will take place over a week later with the No. 4-seed playing the winner of the No. 12/5 game, No. 3 playing the winner of No. 11/6, No. 2 playing the winner of No. 10/7, and No. 1 playing the winner of No. 9/8.
The first of those games is slated for New Year's Eve - Tuesday, Dec. 31 - at 7:30 p.m. ET from the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.
The other three quarterfinals will take place on New Year's Day - Wednesday, Jan. 1 - with the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta at 1 p.m. ET, the Rose Bowl Game from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. at 5 p.m. ET, and the Allstate Sugar Bowl from Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La. at 8:45 p.m. ET.
Semifinals
The semifinals will be the following week with the Capital One Orange Bowl from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. on Thursday, Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Friday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
One of those games will feature the winner of the No. 12/5/4 matchup vs. the winner of the No. 9/8/1 game while the other will be between the winner of No. 11/6/3 and the winner of No. 10/7/2.
National Championship
The CFP National Championship Game will then be played on Monday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
College Football Playoff bracket key dates
| Round | Date | Matchup | Location | How to watch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round | Friday, Dec. 20 (8 p.m. ET) | No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 7 Notre Dame | Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.) | ABC/ESPN |
| First round | Saturday, Dec. 21 (noon ET) | No. 11 SMU vs. No. 6 Penn State | Beaver Stadium (University Park, Pa.) | TNT/MAX |
| First round | Saturday, Dec. 21 (4 p.m. ET) | No. 12 Clemson vs. No. 5 Texas | DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium (Austin, Texas) | TNT/MAX |
| First round | Saturday, Dec. 21 (8 p.m. ET) | No. 9 Tennessee vs. No. 8 Ohio State | Ohio Stadium (Columbus, Ohio) | ABC/ESPN |
| Quarterfinals | Tuesday, Dec. 31 (7:30 p.m. ET) | No. 6 Penn State/No. 11 SMU vs. No. 3 Boise State | Fiesta Bowl (State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.) | ESPN |
| Quarterfinals | Wednesday, Jan. 1 (1 p.m. ET) | No. 5 Texas/No. 12 Clemson vs. No. 4 Arizona State | Peach Bowl (Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta) | ESPN |
| Quarterfinals | Wednesday, Jan. 1 (5 p.m. ET) | No. 8 Ohio State/No.9 Tennessee vs. No. 1 Oregon | Rose Bowl Game (Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.) | ESPN |
| Quarterfinals | Wednesday, Jan. 1 (8:45 p.m. ET) | No. 7 Notre Dame/No. 10 Indiana vs. No. 2 Georgia | Sugar Bowl (Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La.) | ESPN |
| Semifinal 1 | Thursday, Jan. 9 (7:30 p.m. ET) | TBD | Orange Bowl (Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.) | ESPN |
| Semifinal 2 | Friday, Jan. 10 (7:30 p.m. ET) | TBD | Cotton Bowl (AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex.) | ESPN |
| CFP National Championship Game | Monday, Jan. 20 (7:30 p.m. ET) | TBD | Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta) | ESPN |
College Football Playoff bracket FAQs
How many teams make the College Football Playoff bracket?
Previously only four teams were selected for the College Football Playoff, but this season the playoff will expand to 12 teams. The top five ranked conference champions will be automatic qualifiers for the playoff along with seven at-large teams, decided by the College Football Playoff selection committee.
The top four conference champions will receive a first-round bye in the playoff with the committee seeding the remaining teams from No. 5 to 12.
How does the College Football Playoff bracket work?
The 2025 College Football Playoff starts with the first round on Dec. 20 and 21, with games being played at the campus of the higher seed or a location of their choice. The quarterfinals will then be played across the Fiesta, Peach, Rose, and Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1.
The semifinals take place Jan. 9 and 10 at the Orange and Cotton Bowl before the CFP National Championship game on Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.
Why is the College Football Playoff expanding?
After a decade of the four-team College Football Playoff, the CFP is expanding in an effort to give more teams an opportunity to compete for the national title. This comes on the heels of an undefeated power conference champion (Florida State) being left out last year.
Expansion will also guarantee at least on Group of Five program a playoff spot - just one G5 school was selected to the four-team playoff during its 10 years. This theoretically makes the season that much more meaningful for all 134 teams, given that every program has at least a sliver of a chance to make the playoff.
Which 12 teams would have been in the College Football Playoff bracket last year with expansion?
Using last year's College Football Playoff rankings, we can see which 12 teams would have qualified for the CFP if expansion had taken place a year earlier. The four power conference champs that would have received byes would have been Michigan, Washington, Texas, and Alabama with Liberty being the G5 champion automatic qualifier.
The other seven teams based on the CFP rankings following conference championship weekend would have been Florida State, Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, Missouri, Penn State, and Ole Miss.
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