College Football Playoff rankings based on current committee rankings

The 2024-25 college football season will be the first time we have a 12-team playoff format. During the season, the selection committee ranks the top 25 teams and then creates a ranking based on their ranking.

Here’s what this bracket would look like if ONLY the committee’s most recent top 25 rankings (released November 26) were used. This is not a projected look at what the final rankings might look like, just what the rankings look like now based on the committee’s own rankings.

2024-25 College Football Playoff Series

This table uses the committee’s top 25 rankings as of Tuesday, November 26. It is important to note that the top 25 ranking does not always correspond to playoff placement, as the top four ranked conference champions receive the top four seeds and byes, regardless of where those four teams rank in the top 25. The fifth-ranked conference champion is also automatically included, although that team does not receive a bye.

You can see how these numbers – the seed and the CFP rankings – differ below. The four teams with byes are in bold:

1. Oregon – top-ranked conference champion (Big Ten) and No. 1 seed
2. Ohio State – Overall selection (Big Ten second team), No. 5 seed
3. Texas – second highest conference champion (SEC) and seed No. 2
4. Penn State – Overall selection (third team in the Big Ten), No. 6 seed
5. Notre Dame – Overall pick (independent), seed No. 7
6. Miami (Florida) – third highest conference champion (ACC) and seed No. 3
7. Georgia – Overall selection (SEC second team), No. 8 seed
8. Tennessee – Overall selection (SEC third team), No. 9 seed
9. SMU – Overall selection (ACC second team), No. 10 seed
10. Indiana – Overall selection (fourth team in the Big Ten), No. 11 seed
11. Boise State – fourth highest conference champion (Mountain West) and seed No. 4
12. Clemson – first team from the CFP
13. Alabama – second team from the CFP
14. Arizona State – fifth highest conference winner (Big 12) and No. 12 seed

Boise State, which only lost to top-ranked Oregon, is the fourth-ranked conference champion and would therefore receive a bye to the quarterfinals despite ranking 11th. Although Arizona State is only ranked 14th, the Sun Devils are in the College Football Playoff round ahead of No. 12 Clemson and No. 13 Alabama because they are the final automatic qualifier – the fifth-highest conference champion.

The next CFP Top 25 rankings will be released on Tuesday, December 3rd.

College Football Playoff games

While the four best-placed conference champions receive the top four seeds and therefore byes, the remaining eight teams in the group meet in the first round. Here are the games played on campus on December 20th or 21st:

• (12 seed) Arizona State vs. (5) Ohio State – Winner plays (4) Boise State in the quarterfinals
• (11) Indiana vs. (6) Penn State – Winner plays in the quarterfinals against (3) Miami (Florida).
• (10) SMU at (7) Notre Dame – Winner plays in the quarterfinals against (2) Texas
• (9) Tennessee vs. (8) Georgia – Winner plays in the quarterfinals against (1) Oregon

Once the official starting lineup is announced on Sunday, December 8th, there will be no further seeding.

The four quarterfinal games will not be played on campus. Instead, those four games — scheduled for Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 — will be played in the Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The four highest-ranked conference champions will be assigned one of these bowls, taking into account historical bowl relationships and seeding.

The four quarterfinal winners will then meet in the semifinals on January 9th and 10th in either the Orange Bowl or the Cotton Bowl. If the seedings apply, that means (1) would face (4) and (2) would play (3). The two semifinal winners will then play for the national championship on January 20th at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.