College football playoff series based on current committee rankings

The 2024-25 college football season will be the first time we have a 12-team playoff format. During the season, the selection committee will prepare a ranking of the top 25 teams and then determine the ranking based on this ranking.

The four highest-placed conference champions receive a bye into the quarterfinals, with the fifth-highest-placed conference champion automatically advancing (albeit without a bye). Let's take a look at what these rankings would look like using ONLY the committee's most recent top 25 rankings (released November 5th). 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, November 5th. 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 seedsno matter where these four teams rank in the top 25. You can see how these numbers differ in the brackets:

FULL TOP 25: The CFP Selection Committee's complete rankings

Here's a look at how the rankings are made up based on the committee's top 25 finishes. The four teams with byes are in bold:

1. Oregon – top-ranked conference champion (Big Ten) and No. 1 seed
2. Ohio State – Overall pick (behind Oregon in the Big Ten), No. 5 seed
3. Georgia – second highest conference champion (SEC) and seed No. 2
4. Miami (Florida) – third highest conference champion (ACC) and seed No. 3
5. Texas – Overall pick (behind Georgia in the SEC), No. 6 seed
6. Penn State – Overall selection (Big Ten third team), No. 7 seed
7. Tennessee – Overall selection (SEC third team), No. 8 seed
8. Indiana – Overall selection (fourth team in the Big Ten), No. 9 seed
9. BYU – fourth highest conference champion (Big 12) and seed No. 4
10. Notre Dame – Overall pick (independent), seed No. 10
11. Alabama – final overall selection (SEC fourth team), No. 11 seed
12. Boise State – fifth highest conference winner (Mountain West) and No. 12 seed

Boise State, which has only lost to Oregon, is just three spots away from becoming the fourth-seeded conference champion instead of BYU and earning the No. 4 seed and receiving the bye.

SMU, ranked No. 13 in the committee's rankings, is the first team to be eliminated. Texas A&M and LSU round out the top 15.

The next CFP Top 25 rankings will be released on Tuesday, November 12th.

Breakdown: A deeper look at what we know about the early CFP rankings

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) Boise State vs. (5) Ohio State – Winner plays (4) BYU in the quarterfinals
• (11) Alabama vs. (6) Texas – Winner plays in the quarterfinals against (3) Miami
• (10) Notre Dame vs. (7) Penn State – Winner plays (2) Georgia in the quarterfinals
• (9) Indiana vs. (8) Tennessee – 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 semi-final winners will then play for the national championship at Mercedes-Benz in Atlanta on January 20th.