Projected College Football Playoff bracket: How the 2025 field would look based on post-spring top 25 rankings

The 12-team expansion College football The playoffs debut this fall, creating one of the biggest changes in sports history. Suddenly, fans will have to get used to differentiating seeding rankingsand teams that finish in the top 12 of the rankings will be unceremoniously expelled from the field.

CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd released his top 25 post-spring on Wednesday, which sets the stage for the new field. It’s true that a post-spring top 25 doesn’t include all the nuances of teams playing a full schedule, but it comes close enough to allow us to tinker with the new format and get a first look at how it might work.

There are a few things to note before we begin. First, get these words into your head: classification and propagation. The committee will release a final ranking, but the ranking is the only thing that matters. In this bracket, the No. 3 team in the country will enter as the 5th seed. The No. 14 team jumps to fourth place. This is how the system works.

Second, a post-spring ranking is only part of the context. Many of the top 10 teams in the top 25 will play – and beat – each other along the way and potentially eliminate each other. It’s unlikely that five of the top seven teams will come from a single conference.

One last point: we’re treating Boise State as the top Group of Five champion, despite coming in from outside the poll. According to the CFP Committee’s protocols, if there is no fifth champion in the final rankings, they will specifically compare the remaining conference champions and determine a fifth out of the rankings. This protocol never became relevant in previous CFP rankings, where several Group of Five teams often ended up ranked.

Without further ado, here’s how our post-spring top 25 would translate to the College Football Playoff field in 2024.

Dodd’s Top 25 Rankings

1. Georgia*
2. Ohio State*
3. Oregon
4. Texas
5. Alabama
6. old lady
7. Missouri
8. Notre Dame
9. Penn State
10. LSU
11. Utah*
12. Michigan
13. Oklahoma
14. Clemson*
15. Arizona
16. Tennessee
17. Miami
18. washington
19. Kansas State
20. State of Florida
21. Kansas
22. SMU
23. Texas A&M
24. NC State
25. State of Oklahoma

Other: Boise State*

*projected conference champion

PCP Seeds

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Utah
4. Clemson
5. Oregon
6. Texas
7. Alabama
8. old lady
9. Missouri
10. Notre Dame
11. Penn State
12. Boise State

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13. State University of New York
14. Michigan
15. Oklahoma

Analysis: Welcome to the new age. Despite finishing in the top 10, LSU is expected to miss the field. Three teams ranked behind them – Utah, Clemson and Boise State – push them out by virtue of winning their league (Utah, Clemson) and the Group of Five having a guaranteed spot (Boise State). It’s true that LSU would finish sixth in its conference in this scenario, so no one should cry too much for the Tigers, but it will still feel awkward the first time it happens. Michigan would also finish in the top 12, but would not place in the top 12.

First round

• (5) Oregon vs. (12) Boise State
• (6) Texas vs. (11) Penn State
• (7) Alabama x (10) Notre Dame
• (8) Ole Miss vs. (9) Missouri

Analysis: The first College Football Playoff games would take place in Eugene, Austin, Tuscaloosa and Oxford. Not bad. Unusually, the first round would also not feature a single regular season rematch, with the only intra-conference game listed as Ole Miss vs. Ole Miss. Missouri, which has played just once since 2013. The others feature Big Ten vs. vs. Big Ten and SEC vs.

Quarterfinals

• Sugar Bowl: (1) Georgia vs. (8) Ole Miss/(9) Missouri
• Rose Bowl: (2) Ohio State vs. Ohio State (7) Alabama/(10) Notre Dame
• Fiesta Bowl: (3) Utah vs. (6) Texas/(11) Penn State
• Peach Bowl: (4) Clemson vs. (5) Oregon/(12) Boise State

Analysis: The second round features the first guaranteed rematch with Georgia facing either Ole Miss or Missouri, but this group still manages to spread the wealth surprisingly well. The Rose Bowl sets up a phenomenal matchup between Ohio State and another blue-blood level program. The Fiesta and Peach Bowls will be a fascinating first test of the automatic bid setup, as Clemson faces an opponent projected to finish nine spots ahead in the final standings.

One note: Georgia will come into the Sugar Bowl as the No. 1 seed because of the SEC’s connection to the bowl game, regardless of the fact that they would prefer the hometown Peach Bowl. That’s an adjustment for the next two years that people will have to endure as existing bowl contracts shrink.

Projected semifinals

• Orange Bowl: (1) Georgia vs. (5) Oregon
• Cotton Bowl: (2) Ohio State vs. Ohio State (6) Texas

Analysis: Instead of seeds, we are using ranks for projection. Of course, consider it unlikely that we’ll reach that level of chalk with the amount of fascinating clashes along the way. Since neither bowl game is a tie, Georgia could choose to go to the Orange or the Cotton Bowl, but we’re assuming a slightly closer matchup in Miami, especially since it’s an even longer trip for Oregon fans.

Projected CFP National Championship

• (1) Georgia vs. Georgia (2) Ohio State

Analysis: The No. 1 vs. No. 2 seed has reached the CFP National Championship just four times in 10 CFP-era title games, but a ‘Dawgs vs. Buckeyes in Atlanta wouldn’t be a surprise after both guys’ offseason. Ohio State fans certainly won’t be thrilled about playing in Georgia’s backyard, but it should lead to a strong matchup regardless.