After years of waiting, debates and arguments in favor of expansion, the 12-team College Football Playoff is finally, officially, here.
The CFP selection committee released its final rankings and the first 12-team bracket Sunday, and after the conference championship games, No. 1 seed Oregon, No. 2 seed Georgia, No. 3 seed Boise State and No. 4 seed Arizona State get the first-round byes as the four highest-ranked conference champions.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF FORMAT: The new 12-team CFP rankings and seeding, explained
So while they get to skip the first round, No. 12 seed Clemson will play No. 5 seed Texas, No. 11 seed SMU will face No. 6 seed Penn State, No. 10 seed Indiana will take on No. 7 seed Notre Dame and No. 9 seed Tennessee will play No. 8 seed Ohio State.
So here’s a look at the first 12-team CFP bracket for the 2024-25 national championship:
THE BRACKET IS SET ✍️
Who are you taking to win the #CFBPlayoff? pic.twitter.com/9BDWwesEVL
— ESPN (@espn) December 8, 2024
Here’s a look at the final College Football Playoff top-25 rankings, which weren’t guaranteed to match the bracket seeds because of conference champions and byes.
*First-round byes
1. Oregon Ducks (13-0)*
2. Georgia Bulldogs (11-2)*
3. Texas Longhorns (11-2)
4. Penn State Nittany Lions (11-2)
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-1)
6. Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2)
7. Tennessee Volunteers (10-2)
8. Indiana Hoosiers (11-1)
9. Boise State Broncos (12-1)*
10. SMU Mustangs (11-2)
11. Alabama Crimson Tide (9-3)
12. Arizona State Sun Devils (11-2)*
13. Miami Hurricanes (10-2)
14. Ole Miss (9-3)
15. South Carolina Gamecocks (9-3)
16. Clemson Tigers (10-3)
17. BYU Cougars (10-2)
18. Iowa State Cyclones (10-3)
19. Missouri Tigers (9-3)
20. Illinois (9-3)
21. Syracuse Orange (9-3)
22. Army Black Knights (11-1)
23. Colorado Buffaloes (9-3)
24. UNLV Rebels (10-3)
25. Memphis Tigers (10-2)
