Reranking the 8 Teams Remaining in 2025 College Football Playoff After First Round

Before the quarterfinals kick off, let’s reseed the remaining College Football Playoff teams from No. 8 all the way down to No. 1.

Ty Simpson and the Crimson Tide defeated Oklahoma 34–24 in the first round of the 2025 College Football Playoff. / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2025 College Football Playoff is down to eight teams.

The second iteration of the 12-team bracket is off to a booming start, with No. 9 Alabama kicking things off with a thrilling comeback win over No. 8 Oklahoma in the first round earlier this month. Joining the Crimson Tide as first-round playoff survivors are No. 5 Oregon, No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 10 Miami.

Now, the top four seeds—No. 1 Indiana, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas Tech—await those first-round victors and will suit up for the first time in over three weeks on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Before the quarterfinals kick off, let’s reseed the remaining College Football Playoff teams from No. 8 all the way down to No. 1:

8. Oregon Ducks

Dante Moore has thrown for 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season. / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Actual seeding: No. 5
First round result: Beat No. 12 James Madison 51–34
Quarterfinal matchup: vs. No. 4 Texas Tech in Orange Bowl — Jan. 1, 12 p.m. ET, ESPN, Miami Gardens, Fla.

Look, the first-round matchup between the Ducks and James Madison was never close. Oregon led 34–6 at halftime and did whatever it wanted on offense all night long, including four explosive touchdowns of 41 yards or longer.

Even though the win was never in doubt, the second half was ugly. James Madison outscored Oregon 28–17 in the final two quarters and put together a nine-play, 99-yard drive late in the fourth to close the final score to 51–34.

Giving up 34 points and 509 yards of total offense to a Group of 5 team isn’t a great look heading into the Orange Bowl.

"The second half, as a team, we didn't play the way we needed to be able to play," Oregon coach Dan Lanning said after the game. "You're going to find moments like that when you have a big lead to be able to choke somebody out. We didn't do that."

7. Alabama Crimson Tide (11–3)

Actual seeding: No. 9
First round result: Beat No. 8 Oklahoma 34–24
Quarterfinal matchup: vs. No. 1 Indiana in Rose Bowl — Jan. 1, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN, Pasadena, Calif.

Alabama limped into the College Football Playoff with two losses in its final four games and a tight 27–20 victory over lowly Auburn in the Iron Bowl. The Crimson Tide struggled to get anything going on the ground late in the year, and tallied a total of -3 rushing yards in their 28–7 SEC championship game loss to Georgia.

Then, the Crimson Tide fell behind 17–0 in the second quarter to Oklahoma. It did not look good. Rumors swirled about the future of Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer, who Michigan was reportedly targeting in its search for a new head coach.

Alabama dramatically turned things around late in the second quarter and outscored Oklahoma 34–7 the rest of the way to secure a 34–24 win. They still didn’t find much success on the ground—rushing for a total of 28 yards on 25 attempts—but a comeback win in Norman, Okla., is enough for the Crimson Tide to move past Oregon in this reseeding exercise.

6. Miami Hurricanes (11–2)

Mark Fletcher Jr. tallied 964 total yards in 11 games for the Hurricanes in 2025. / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Actual seeding: No. 10
First round result: Beat No. 7 Texas A&M 10–3

Quarterfinal matchup: vs. No. 2 Ohio State in Cotton Bowl — Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Arlington, Texas

In arguably the ugliest game in the brief history of the 12-team CFP bracket, Miami beat Texas A&M 10–3 at Kyle Field, securing the win on an interception in the end zone with 24 seconds left. Although Carson Beck didn’t look great—103 yards on 14-of-20 passing—Mark Fletcher Jr. took over with 172 rushing yards on 17 attempts.

A Cotton Bowl matchup against Ohio State is a rude awakening, but Miami has shown that it clearly belongs in the CFP—much to the chagrin of Notre Dame supporters.

5. Ole Miss Rebels (12–1)

Actual seeding: No. 6
First round result: Beat No. 11 Tulane 41–10
Quarterfinal matchup: vs. No. 3 Georgia in Sugar Bowl — Jan. 1, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, New Orleans

No Lane Kiffin, no problem.

In the first game of the Pete Golding era, Ole Miss earned the first CFP win in program history. The Rebels didn’t take long to quell any concerns about their offense without Kiffin on the sidelines, grabbing a 14–0 lead over Tulane in a matter of minutes on just seven total offensive plays.

Now, Ole Miss gets a rematch of its 43–35 loss to Georgia back on Oct. 13 in the upcoming Sugar Bowl. Get your popcorn ready.

4. Texas Tech Red Raiders (12–1)

Jacob Rodriguez has posted 117 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and four interceptions this season. / Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Actual seeding: No. 4
First round result: Bye
Quarterfinal matchup: vs. No. 5 Oregon in Orange Bowl — Jan. 1, 12 p.m. ET, ESPN, Miami Gardens, Fla.

Good luck to any CFP team facing the Texas Tech defense, which boasts linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who finished fifth in Heisman voting this year, and David Bailey, who ranked second in all of FBS with 13.5 sacks.

The only team to score over 20 points against Texas Tech this season was Arizona State in the Red Raiders’ only loss of the year, a 26–22 final. Oregon’s speedy offense poses new challenges for Texas Tech, but the Big 12 champions are built to advance to the semifinals.

3. Ohio State Buckeyes (12–1)

Actual seeding: No. 2
First round result: Bye
Quarterfinal matchup: vs. No. 10 Miami in Cotton Bowl — Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, Arlington, Texas

There was only one team to feature three players in the Top 10 Heisman Trophy voting this year: the defending champion Buckeyes. Dropping them from the No. 2 seed to the No. 3 seed might seem like an insult, but the Buckeyes are set up to win a national title as well as any program on this list.

2. Georgia Bulldogs (12–1)

Gunner Stockton has thrown for 2,691 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Actual seeding: No. 3
First round result: Bye
Quarterfinal matchup: vs. No. 6 Ole Miss in Sugar Bowl — Jan. 1, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, New Orleans

Ranking an SEC team who didn’t play in the first round ahead of a Big Ten team who also didn’t play in the first round probably doesn’t look great, especially considering the Big Ten’s dominance in bowl season so far.

But Alabama, after looking rather undeserving of a spot in the playoff in three of the last four weeks of the season, woke up in the first round to beat Oklahoma on the road. While Ohio State fell to Indiana in the Big Ten championship, Georgia had no issues taking care of Alabama in the SEC title game with a 28–7 win.

1. Indiana Hoosiers (13–0)

Actual seeding: No. 1
First round result: Bye
Quarterfinal matchup: vs. No. 9 Alabama in Rose Bowl — Jan. 1, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN, Pasadena, Calif.

Thirteen games, 13 wins.

Nothing has changed over the last four weeks for the Hoosiers, who defeated the Buckeyes 13–10 in the Big Ten championship game back on Dec. 6. Indiana was already a championship contender before that win, but defeating the Big Ten’s greatest bully in Ohio State upgraded coach Curt Cignetti and the upstart Hoosiers from a cute story to a legitimate national college football powerhouse.

Indiana, the college football blueblood. Get used to it.

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