Following the first 10 iterations of the College Football Playoff comprising four teams, the 2024–25 playoff is the first to include 12 teams as ranked by the College Football Playoff poll.[1][2] The five highest-ranked conference champions, including at least one from the Group of Five conferences, have been selected to compete, along with the next seven highest-ranked teams. Furthermore, the four highest-ranked conference champions each received a first-round bye in the playoff.[2][3]
Locations of the playoff games: campus site first round games (green), quarterfinals (blue), semifinals (red), and the national championship (black)
The tournament is structured as a single-elimination bracket tournament, with 12 teams playing a total of 11 games. The first round features the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion (Clemson) and seven at large bids, seeded based on the final CFP rankings,[4] which were released after conference championship games had been played. The first-round winners advance to face the four highest-ranked conference champions in the quarterfinals.[4] The quarterfinal and semifinal contests utilize six of the 2024–25 NCAA football bowl games. These bowls, commonly known as the New Year's Six,[4] are some of the oldest (and historically, most prestigious) bowl games.
The first CFP rankings of the season were released on November5.[9]Oregon was the first No.1-ranked team of the season, and was projected to earn a first-round bye as leaders of the Big Ten Conference. The other three highest-ranked conference leaders, each in line to earn first round byes, were No.3 Georgia from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), No.4 Miami (FL) from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and No.9 BYU from the Big 12 Conference. No.12 Boise State from the Mountain West Conference (MWC) was the highest-ranked Group of Five leader, and the rest of the projected field was filled in by No.2 Ohio State (Big Ten), No.5 Texas (SEC), No.6 Penn State (Big Ten), No.7 Tennessee (SEC), No.8 Indiana (Big Ten), No.10 Notre Dame (FBS independent), and No.11 Alabama (SEC).[10] During the week following the first rankings release, two top ten teams were defeated, with No.16 Ole Miss beating Georgia and Georgia Tech upsetting Miami to deal them their first loss of the season.[11][12] As a result, Miami dropped to No.9 and Georgia to No.12. This dropped Georgia out of the projected playoff field, as No.13 Boise State stood to be selected as the 12-seed by virtue of their position as the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. Texas, Penn State, Indiana, and BYU each moved up to fill out the remainder of the top six behind Oregon and Ohio State, with Texas also becoming the SEC leader in line to earn a first-round bye. Ole Miss also moved into playoff position.[13]
Following the second rankings' release, Georgia's rivalry game victory over Tennessee and Kansas' upset of BYU moved the Bulldogs back into playoff position at the Volunteers' expense while Boise State moved ahead of BYU into position for a first-round bye.[14] After the third rankings' release, Oklahoma's upset of Alabama and Florida's upset of Ole Miss respectively knocked the Crimson Tide and the Rebels out of playoff position. Tennessee moved back into the top 12, while SMU cracked the top 12 for the first time after clinching an ACC Championship Game berth in their first year in the conference. Ohio State's win over Indiana to deal them their first loss of the season also dropped the Hoosiers to 10th, while Arizona State's win over BYU also put them into playoff position as the Big12 leader.[15]
Following the fourth rankings' release, Ohio State's upset loss to archrivalMichigan knocked them down to 6th, while Miami's upset loss to Syracuse knocked them out of playoff position, with Alabama re-entering the top 12.[16] During the conference championships, Georgia beat Texas in overtime in the SEC Championship to secure a berth. Meanwhile, Clemson beat SMU on a last-second field goal to win the ACC Championship and secure a berth, which also gave Boise State and Arizona State first-round byes after they won the Mountain West and Big12 Championships respectively.[17] SMU's loss to Clemson sparked debate over whether the Mustangs or the Crimson Tide deserved a playoff berth. Alabama had a higher strength of schedule than SMU but had lost to multiple unranked teams – in addition to their loss to Oklahoma, the Crimson Tide had lost toVanderbilt.[18][19] The committee ultimately ranked SMU higher than Alabama, giving SMU the final at-large berth in the playoff bracket.[17]
The 12-team CFP began with the first round game between No. 8 Indiana, the 10-seed, and No. 5 Notre Dame, the 7-seed. It was the 30th all-time meeting between the teams and the first since a Notre Dame win in 1991.[21] The game marked Indiana's CFP debut[21] and Notre Dame's third CFP appearance.[22] Notre Dame's longstanding media rights deal with NBC meant this was the first Fighting Irish home game since 1990 not to air on NBC.[23]
Indiana began the game with the ball and punted on their first drive, and afterward both teams traded interceptions. On the first play of Notre Dame's second drive, running back Jeremiyah Love rushed for a 98-yard touchdown, the game's first score. The Fighting Irish doubled their lead on their next drive following a 5-yard touchdown pass from Riley Leonard to Jayden Thomas, and each team scored a field goal late in the second quarter, leading to a halftime score of 17–3.[24]
Both teams punted on their first drive of the second half, and Notre Dame scored the quarter's only points on a 33-yard field goal by Mitch Jeter with under four and a half minutes to play. Notre Dame attempted another field goal on their next drive, but it was blocked by James Carpenter. After an Indiana punt, their third in three drives, Notre Dame drove 78 yards in nine plays and finished with a 1-yard Leonard touchdown rush to push their lead to 24 points. Indiana responded on their following drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Kurtis Rourke to Myles Price; the two-point conversion attempt was successful, as was Hoosiers' ensuing onside kick attempt. Indiana scored again with 25 seconds remaining on a pass from Rourke to Omar Cooper Jr., though this two-point try was no good. Notre Dame then retook possession following a failed onside kick and ran out the clock for a 27–17 victory.[24]
No. 10 SMU, recipients of the 11-seed, and No. 4 Penn State, the 6-seed, made their respective CFP debuts in their first round game, which was their third meeting.[25][26] Penn State entered leading the series with one win, in 1978, and one tie, in the 1948 Cotton Bowl Classic.[25]
Penn State, who began the game with the ball, punted on both of their first two drives, but took the lead when Dominic DeLuca intercepted a Kevin Jennings pass and returned it for a touchdown. Later in the first quarter, Penn State turned the ball over on downs but regained possession with another interception returned for a touchdown, this time by Tony Rojas. After an SMU punt and another Penn State turnover on downs, Jennings threw a third interception—the second to DeLuca—which led to a 25-yard touchdown rush by Kaytron Allen. Another SMU turnover on downs followed, and Penn State scored the final points of the first half on a Nicholas Singleton rush, giving the hosts a 28–0 halftime lead.[27]
SMU opened the second half by scoring their first points of the contest on a 28-yard field goal by Collin Rogers, and Penn State answered with a field goal of their own on their first drive of the half. A Rogers miss from 42 yards on SMU's ensuing drive gave Penn State the ball back, and the Nittany Lions drove 75 yards in nine plays to push their lead to 31 points on a 4-yard rush by Allen. SMU punted on their next drive but quickly regained possession following a Brandon Crossley interception, leading to SMU's first touchdown on a 28-yard pass from Jennings to Roderick Daniels Jr. A punt by each team gave the ball back to Penn State, who ran out the clock to conclude the game and advanced to the quarterfinals with a 38–10 win.[27]
No. 16 ACC champion Clemson, seeded 12th, and No. 3 Texas, seeded 5th, faced each other for the first time in the first round of the CFP.[28] The game marked Texas's second CFP appearance and Clemson's seventh.[29][30]
Both teams scored on their first possessions of the game, Clemson on a 22-yard pass from Cade Klubnik to Antonio Williams and Texas on a 3-yard Quintrevion Wisner rush. Both touchdown drives spanned 75 yards in 12 plays. Texas took their first lead on a 38-yard rush by Jaydon Blue that followed a Clemson three-and-out, and the Longhorns doubled their lead on a 16-yard rush by Wisner after another Clemson punt with seven and a half minutes remaining in the second quarter. Clemson's ensuing drive was cut short when Colin Simmons intercepted Klubnik's pass at the Clemson 26-yard line. A 32-yard field goal by Clemson's Nolan Hauser was the next scoring play of the game, following a punt by Clemson and an interception of Quinn Ewers by R.J. Mickens. Texas pushed their lead to 18 points with 28 seconds remaining in the half with a 19-yard passing touchdown from Ewers to Gunnar Helm, making the halftime score 28–10.[31]
Texas finished their first drive of the second half with a 22-yard Bert Auburn field goal, extending their lead to 21 points. Both teams traded punts before Clemson scored on a 25-yard pass from Klubnik to Jarvis Green. Texas drove to the Clemson 36-yard line on their next possession but their fourth down pass fell incomplete, resulting in another turnover on downs. Clemson capitalized with a 10-play drive culminating in a 7-yard pass from Klubnik to T. J. Moore, and Texas scored a touchdown of their own two plays later on a 77-yard rush by Blue. Clemson reached the Texas 10-yard line in five plays on their ensuing drive but failed to score after turning the ball over on downs at the 1-yard line. Texas fumbled to end their next drive, but Clemson was only able to reach the Texas 26-yard line before another turnover on downs, and the game ended with a 38–24 Texas victory.[31]
The CFP first round concluded with a game between No. 7 Tennessee, seeded ninth, and No. 6 Ohio State, seeded eighth. Their only prior meeting was in the 1996 Citrus Bowl, which Tennessee won 20–14.[32] The Buckeyes made their sixth CFP appearance,[33] while the Volunteers made their CFP debut.[34]
The Buckeyes received the ball first and scored on their fifth offensive snap on a 37-yard pass from Will Howard to Jeremiah Smith. After forcing a three-and-out by Tennessee, they pushed their lead to 14 points on a 1-yard Quinshon Judkins rush and shortly afterwards to 21 points on a 29-yard TreVeyon Henderson rush following another Tennessee punt on their third drive. An interception by Tennessee's Will Brooks led to the Volunteers' first score, a 36-yard Max Gilbert field goal, with six and a half minutes remaining in the second quarter. Ohio State punted for the first time on their next drive, and Tennessee narrowed the deficit to eleven points after capping a 16-play drive with a 2-yard Nico Iamaleava touchdown rush. Ohio State advanced the ball to the Tennessee 38-yard line before an unsuccessful 56-yard field goal attempt by Jayden Fielding ended the half.[35]
Ohio State ended Tennessee's run of ten unanswered points with a touchdown on their first drive of the third quarter. After Tennessee opened the half with a punt, the Buckeyes took possession at their own 35-yard line and scored on a 22-yard Howard-to-Smith pass on their sixth play. The Buckeyes scored again on their second and third drives of the half, on runs of 1 and 24 yards by Judkins and Henderson, respectively, while the Volunteers were held to another punt and a turnover on downs. Tennessee scored the game's final points on a 2-yard Iamaleava rush with 1:56 to play. Ohio State was then able to run the clock out to secure a 42–17 victory.[35]
The quarterfinals will open with No. 9 and Mountain West champion Boise State, seeded third and making their CFP debut, facing Penn State for the first time.[37]
The first of the New Year's Day quarterfinal tripleheader will match No. 12 Big 12 champion Arizona State, seeded fourth and making their CFP debut, against Texas. The Longhorns won the teams' only previous meeting 52–34 in the 2007 Holiday Bowl.[39]
TV announcers (ESPN): Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe[20]
The second part of the New Year's Day quarterfinal tripleheader will match No. 1 and Big Ten champion Oregon, making their second CFP appearance, against Ohio State. Entering the game, the Buckeyes lead the series 9–2, including two previous Rose Bowl wins (1958 and 2010).[40]
TV announcers (ESPN): Sean McDonough, Greg McElroy, Molly McGrath[20]
The quarterfinals will conclude with No. 2 and SEC champion Georgia facing Notre Dame. The Bulldogs, making their fourth CFP appearance, enter the game 3–0 against the Fighting Irish including a win in the 1981 Sugar Bowl.[42]
