College Football Playoff 2025: Projected 12-Team Bracket After Latest Rankings

2025–26 College Football Playoff bracket and rankings

Based on the CFP selection committee’s initial top 25 rankings of the 2025–26 college football season, which were revealed on Tuesday, Nov. 4, here is a look at the College Football Playoff bracket. The top spot in the initial rankings is Ohio State.

This CFP bracket is not the official final version. On Sunday, December 7, that will be made public. According to the latest CFP rankings, this bracket is exactly how it would seem right now.

Bracket for the 2025–26 College Football Playoffs

The top 25 rankings from the initial selection committee are used in this bracket on Tuesday, November 4. On Sunday, December 7, the committee’s final rankings and the official College Football Playoff bracket will be announced after four more in-season rankings.

The top 25 ranking does not always correspond to the playoff seed because the top five conference winners always advance, regardless of whether they are ranked higher or lower than teams in the top 25.

Here’s how the matchups look:

First Round (and related quarterfinal matchups)

No. 12 Memphis at No. 5 Georgia
- Winner vs. No. 4 Alabama in the quarterfinals
No. 11 Virginia at No. 6 Ole Miss
- Winner vs. No. 3 Texas A&M in the quarterfinals
No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 BYU
- Winner vs. No. 2 Indiana in the quarterfinals
No. 9 Oregon at No. 8 Texas Tech
- Winner vs. No. 1 Ohio State in the quarterfinals

Rankings and seeds for the College Football Playoffs

Regardless of how they do in their conference, the top four teams advance to the quarterfinals via first round byes. The list of these teams is bold. Every team in the bracket is italicized. Bids are automatically awarded to the top five conference winners.

Here are the initial CFP top 25 rankings.

Ohio State: 8-0
Indiana: 9-0
Texas A&M: 8-0
Alabama: 7-1
Georgia: 7-1
Ole Miss: 8-1
BYU: 8-0
Texas Tech: 8-1
Oregon: 7-1
Notre Dame: 6-2
Texas: 7-2 (first team out)
Oklahoma: 7-2
Utah: 7-2
Virginia: 8-1 (No. 11 seed as the fourth highest-ranked conference champion)
Louisville: 7-1
Vanderbilt: 7-2
Georgia Tech: 8-1
Miami (Fla.): 6-2
USC: 6-2
Iowa: 6-2
Michigan: 7-2
Missouri: 6-2
Washington: 6-2
Pitt: 7-2
Tennessee: 6-3

NR: Memphis is the fifth highest-ranked conference champion and gets the No. 12 seed despite not ranking in the top 25 rankings.

There is no re-seeding of the bracket.

Like the first round, the four quarterfinal games are not held on campus. The Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl will host the quarterfinals, which are set for December 31 and January 1. One of these bowls will be given to the top four teams based on seeding and past bowl relationships.

On January 8 and 9, the four quarterfinal winners will square off in the semifinals at either the Peach Bowl or the Fiesta Bowl. No. 1 would play No. 4 and No. 2 would play No. 3 if the seeding hold. The CFP national championship match between the two semifinal winners will take place in Miami on Monday, January 19.

2025-26 College Football Playoff schedule

First round (Dec. 19-20) — on campus
- Friday, Dec. 19
  - 8 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN, WatchESPN
- Saturday, Dec. 20:
  - 12 p.m. on ABC, ESPN, WatchESPN
  - 3:30 p.m. on TNT, truTV, HBO Max
  - 7:30 p.m. on TNT, truTV, HBO Max
Quarterfinals (Dec. 31-Jan. 1)
- Wednesday, Dec. 31
  - Cotton Bowl (Arlington, Texas) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
- Thursday, Jan. 1
  - Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, Fla.) | 12 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
  - Rose Bowl (Pasadena, Calif.) | 4 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
  - Sugar Bowl (New Orleans) | 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
College Football Playoff National Championship Game
- Monday, Jan. 19
  - Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN