College Football Playoff bracket, based on current committee rankings

The 2024-2025 college football season will be the first time we have a twelve-team playoff format. During the season, the selection committee ranks the top 25 teams and then creates the bracket based on their rankings.

Here's what that bracket would look like, using ONLY the committee's final top 25 rankings (revealed on November 26). This is not a projected look at what the final bracket might look like, but what the bracket looks like now based on the committee's own rankings.

2024-25 College Football Playoff Bracket

This series uses the committee's top 25 rankings on Tuesday, November 26. It is important to note that the top 25 rankings do not always correspond to playoff seeding, as the top four ranked conference champions receive the top four. seeds and byes, regardless of where these four teams rank in the top 25. The fifth-highest ranked conference champion also automatically participates, although that team does not receive a bye.

Below you can see how these numbers, the seed, and the CFP rankings differ. The four teams with byes are in bold:

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

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

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

College Football Playoff Bracket Games

With the four highest-ranked conference champions receiving the top four seeds and thus byes, the remaining eight teams in the bracket will meet in the first round. Here are the games played on campus on December 20 or 21:

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

There will be no re-sowing once the official range is announced on Sunday, December 8.

The four quarter-finals will not be played on campus grounds. Instead, these four games, scheduled for December 31 and January 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 affiliations and seeding.

The four quarter-final winners will then meet in the semi-finals at the Orange Bowl or the Cotton Bowl on January 9 and 10. If the seeds are kept, it means that (1) would meet (4) and (2) would play (3). The two semifinal winners will then play for the national championship on January 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.