The College Football Playoff bracket is out. The official 12-team College Football Playoff field and final top 25 rankings were revealed on Dec. 8. The quarterfinals will start on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025.
Oregon is the No. 1 seed, with Georgia, Boise State, and Arizona State also receiving byes. Below is the bracket, final seedings, and full playoff schedule.
2024-25 College Football Playoff bracket
This bracket is based on the committee’s final top 25 rankings from Sunday, Dec. 8. It’s important to remember that the top 25 ranking doesn’t always align with the playoff seedings.
The four highest-ranked conference champions receive the top four seeds and byes, no matter where those teams rank in the top 25. The fifth-highest-ranked conference champion also automatically qualifies, but this team will not receive a bye.
College Football Playoff schedule, scores
All times Eastern
Semifinals
Thursday, Jan. 9
No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 7 Notre Dame (Orange Bowl) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
Friday, Jan. 10
No. 5 Texas vs. No. 8 Ohio State (Cotton Bowl) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
National Championship
Monday, Jan. 20
TBD vs. TBD (Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN
First round
Friday, Dec. 20
No. 7 Notre Dame 27, No. 10 Indiana 17
Saturday, Dec. 21
No. 6 Penn State 38, No. 11 SMU 10
No. 5 Texas 38, No. 12 Clemson 24
No. 8 Ohio State 42, No. 9 Tennessee 17
Quarterfinals
Thursday, Jan. 2
No. 7 Notre Dame 23, No. 2 Georgia 10 (Sugar Bowl)
Tuesday, Dec. 31
No. 6 Penn State 31, No. 3 Boise State 14 (Fiesta Bowl)
Wednesday, Jan. 1
No. 5 Texas 39, No. 4 Arizona State 31 (2OT) (Peach Bowl)
No. 8 Ohio State 41, No. 1 Oregon 21 (Rose Bowl)
College Football Playoff rankings, seeds
You can see how these numbers — the seed and the CFP ranking — differ below. The four teams with byes are in bold.
Here are the final CFP top 25 rankings, with teams in the CFP also getting their seeds included at the end.
Oregon — highest-ranked conference champion (Big Ten) and seeded No. 1
Georgia — second-highest-ranked conference champion (SEC) and seeded No. 2
Texas — at-large pick (second team from the SEC), seeded No. 5
Penn State — at-large pick (second team in the Big Ten), seeded No. 6
Notre Dame — at-large pick (independent), seeded No. 7
Ohio State — at-large pick (third team from the Big Ten), seeded No. 8
Tennessee — at-large pick (third team from the SEC), seeded No. 9
Indiana — at-large pick (fourth team from the Big Ten), seeded No. 10
Boise State — third-highest-ranked conference champion (Mountain West) and seeded No. 3
SMU — at-large pick (from the ACC), seeded No. 11
Alabama — first team out of the CFP
Arizona State — fourth-highest-ranked conference champion (Big 12) and seeded No. 4
Miami (Fla.) — second team out of the CFP
Ole Miss — third team out of the CFP
South Carolina — fourth team out of the CFP
Clemson — fifth-highest-ranked conference champion (ACC) and seeded No. 12
BYU — fifth team out of the CFP
Iowa State — sixth team out of the CFP
Missouri — seventh team out of the CFP
Illinois — eighth team out of the CFP
Syracuse — ninth team out of the CFP
Army — 10th team out of the CFP
Colorado — 11th team out of the CFP
UNLV — 12th team out of the CFP
Memphis — 13th team out of the CFP
Boise State, which won the Mountain West Conference championship and has lost to only top-ranked Oregon, is the third-highest-ranked conference champion and thus received a bye into the quarterfinals despite ranking No. 9.
Though Arizona State is ranked only No. 12, the Sun Devils are the fourth-highest-ranked conference champion — over ACC champ Clemson (No. 16) — and earned the No. 4 seed and the final first-round bye.
There is no re-seeding once the official bracket is revealed on Sunday, Dec. 8.
The four quarterfinal games are not played at the campus sites. Instead, these four games — scheduled on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 — will be played at the Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Sugar Bowl. The four highest-ranked conference champions will be assigned one of these bowls in consideration of historic bowl relationships as well as seeding.
The four quarterfinal winners will then meet in the semifinals at either the Orange Bowl or the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 9 and Jan. 10. If the seeds hold, that means (1) would meet (4) and (2) would play (3). The two semifinal winners will then play on Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta for the national championship.
