The 2024-25 college football season is the first time we will 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 December 3) were used. This is not a predicted 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 group will use the committee’s top 25 rankings as of Tuesday, December 3rd. 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. Texas – second highest conference champion (SEC) and seed No. 2
3. Penn State – Overall selection (Big Ten second team), No. 5 seed
4. Notre Dame – Overall pick (independent), seed No. 6
5. Georgia – Overall selection (SEC second team), No. 7 seed
6. Ohio State – Overall selection (Big Ten third team), No. 8 seed
7. Tennessee – Overall selection (SEC third team), No. 9 seed
8. SMU – third highest conference champion (ACC), seed No. 3
9. Indiana – Overall selection (fourth team in the Big Ten), No. 10 seed
10. Boise State – fourth highest conference champion (Mountain West) and seed No. 4
11. Alabama – Overall selection (SEC fourth team), No. 11 seed
12. Miami (Florida) – first team from the CFP
13. Ole Miss – second team from the CFP
14. South Carolina – third team from the CFP
15. 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 being ranked 10th. Although Arizona State is only ranked 15th, the Sun Devils are in the College Football Playoff round ahead of No. 12 Miami (Florida), No. 13 Ole Miss and No. 14 South Carolina because they are in the final automatic qualifying round are there – the fifth highest conference champions.

The final CFP Top 25 rankings will be released on Sunday, December 8th.

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) Penn State – Winner plays (4) Boise State in the quarterfinals
• (11) Alabama vs. (6) Notre Dame – Winner plays in quarterfinals vs. (3) SMU
• (10) Indiana vs. (7) Georgia – Winner plays in the quarterfinals against (2) Texas
• (9) Tennessee vs. (8) Ohio State – 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.