2025 College Football Playoff Bracket Unveiled After Fifth Rankings Release

The 2025 College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings just dropped for the fifth time. With Selection Sunday almost here, teams are scrambling for those last postseason spots.

These latest rankings and the projected matchups give us a peek at how wild this 12-team playoff race could get. The stakes? Yeah, they’re sky-high as the season winds down.

Let’s take a look at the current rankings, matchups, and a few dates every college football fan should probably jot down.

Understanding the 2025 CFP Bracket

This is only the second year with the 12-team playoff format, and honestly, it already feels like a game-changer. The old four-team setup just can’t compare to the chaos and opportunity this new system brings.

Five automatic bids go to the highest-ranked conference champs. Then, the next seven highest-ranked teams fill out the rest of the bracket.

Current Rankings and Key Teams

Here’s how the top four look after the fifth release:

• No. 1 Ohio State
• No. 2 Indiana
• No. 3 Georgia
• No. 4 Texas Tech

These four are sitting pretty, set to skip the first round and head straight to the quarterfinals. Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia, and Texas Tech have been strong all year, so it’s not exactly shocking to see them here.

Projected Matchups for Playoff Round 1

First round matchups? They’re shaping up to be wild. Check out these projected pairings:

• No. 12 Tulane (or the fifth-highest-ranked projected conference champion) vs. No. 5 Oregon
• No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 8 Oklahoma
• No. 11 Virginia (or the fourth-highest-ranked projected conference champion) vs. No. 6 Ole Miss
• No. 10 Notre Dame vs. No. 7 Texas A&M

Alabama and Oklahoma facing off in the first round? That’s the kind of thing that makes this expanded playoff so much fun. Tulane and Virginia as possible spoilers? Stranger things have happened.

Quarterfinals and Beyond

Winners from the first round move on to the quarterfinals to face the top four. Here’s how those matchups could shake out:

• No. 4 Texas Tech vs. winner of Oregon/Tulane (or the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion)
• No. 1 Ohio State vs. winner of Oklahoma/Alabama
• No. 3 Georgia vs. winner of Ole Miss/Virginia (or the fourth-highest-ranked conference champion)
• No. 2 Indiana vs. winner of Texas A&M/Notre Dame

Honestly, it’s tough to predict who’ll break through here. Ohio State and Georgia seem like safe bets, but upsets happen—especially with this much on the line.

Key Dates and Broadcast Information

Got your calendar ready? Here are the big dates to remember:

• Selection Sunday: December 7, 2025
• First Round: December 19-20, 2025
• Quarterfinals: December 31, 2025 – January 1, 2026
• Semifinals: January 10, 2026
• National Championship: January 20, 2026

The full 12-team bracket and final committee rankings will drop on Selection Sunday. ESPN, ABC, and TNT will have coverage, so you won’t have to hunt for a stream.

Final Thoughts

The 2025 College Football Playoff is shaping up to be one wild ride. There’s a real mix this year—some usual juggernauts, sure, but also a couple of teams nobody saw coming.

The new 12-team format? It’s definitely shaking things up. Suddenly, every game feels like it could go sideways in a heartbeat.

If you’re itching for more details or just want to see how the rankings look now, check out the updated CFP bracket on Fox Sports.