Forde: College Football Playoff Projected Bracket After Week 12

The SEC is still a five-bid league even with Oklahoma’s upset win over Alabama.

Pat Forde | Nov 17, 2025

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables celebrates with defensive lineman Gracen Halton after beating Alabama. / David Leong-Imagn Images

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The big shake-up over the weekend was the home loss by Alabama to Oklahoma. While that alters a few things, it doesn’t change this from last week: The SEC is still a five-bid league.

Projected College Football Playoff Seeding After Week 12

Ohio State
Indiana
Texas A&M
Georgia
Texas Tech
Mississippi
Oregon
Oklahoma
Alabama
Notre Dame
Miami
James Madison

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On the Bubble

Texas
USC
Michigan
Vanderbilt
BYU
Georgia Tech

First-Round Games

No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Texas Tech
No. 11 Miami at No. 6 Mississippi
No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Oregon
No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma

Quarterfinals

Orange Bowl: No. 4 Georgia vs. winner of No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Texas Tech
Sugar Bowl: No. 3 Texas A&M vs. winner of No. 11 Miami at No. 6 Mississippi
Cotton Bowl: No. 2 Indiana vs. winner of No. 10 Notre Dame at No. 7 Oregon
Rose Bowl: No. 1 Ohio State vs. winner of No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma

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Published Nov 17, 2025|Modified Nov 17, 2025

PAT FORDE

Pat Forde is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated who covers college football and college basketball as well as the Olympics and horse racing. He cohosts the College Football Enquirer podcast and is a football analyst on the Big Ten Network. He previously worked for Yahoo Sports, ESPN and The (Louisville) Courier-Journal. Forde has won 28 Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest awards, has been published three times in the Best American Sports Writing book series, and was nominated for the 1990 Pulitzer Prize. A past president of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and member of the Football Writers Association of America, he lives in Louisville with his wife. They have three children, all of whom were collegiate swimmers.