College Football Playoff bracket for 2025 goes live: Who's in? Who's out?

Everything comes down to this: the selection committee has revealed their final decisions as the College Football Playoff gets underway to determine the 2025 national championship.

It's official: Here is your 2025 College Football Playoff bracket. | USA Today Sports | Imagn

The debates are over and the decisions are in.

After pouring over the strength of schedules, results against common opponents, and all the other metrics, college football’s bigwigs have made it official, revealing their final bracket and rankings for the second-ever 12-team College Football Playoff.

Enough talk: Here is the official 12-team College Football Playoff bracket and full top 25 rankings as we enter a historic 2025 postseason.

College Football Playoff 2025: Who's in? Who's out?

The College Football Playoff bracket is live for 2025. | Robert Goddin-Imagn Images

1. Indiana

History for the Hoosiers, who in two short years under Curt Cignetti have gone from a Big Ten afterthought to the 13-0 conference champion after taking out undefeated Ohio State to win the league crown and emerge as the consensus top seed.

2. Ohio State

College football’s reigning national champion lost its first game of the season with the Big Ten title on the line, but did so against an apparent team of destiny and by just three points, and still boasting enough of a résumé to stay within the top-two to build a playoff run.

3. Georgia

A second-straight SEC championship and a third in four years enabled the Bulldogs to climb after beating up on Alabama, avenging their one regular season loss, and ending the monopoly on the top-two the Big Ten had until this weekend.

4. Texas Tech

If not for a loss to Arizona State, the Red Raiders would be considered college football’s most dominant team. Its defense certainly held up its end, forcing four second-half turnovers to smash BYU and win the Big 12 championship, enough to jump into the top-four and get the coveted first-round bye.

5. Oregon

Predictably, the idle Ducks were jumped by the Big 12 champion Red Raiders in the final bracket, but were always considered comfortable for a first-round game at Autzen Stadium, sealing a place in the playoff with a signature win over ranked USC.

6. Ole Miss

The selectors indicated that losing Lane Kiffin wouldn’t hurt the Rebels in the pecking order, and it still hasn’t as they’ll play a first-round game at home in what should be the most momentous event in Mississippi sports history.

7. Texas A&M

If not for that loss to rival Texas last weekend, the Aggies could have beaten Alabama for the SEC championship, too, but instead they’ll have to settle for hosting a first-round game in front of the 12th Man, which could be an advantage in its own right.

8. Oklahoma

The Sooners’ win over Alabama doesn’t look quite as impressive after what happened in Atlanta, but it’s still enough to put this team into an at-large bid just a year after posting a losing record. They have that ferocious defense to thank for it. Can John Mateer and this offense make a run?

9. Alabama

Not only did the selectors keep the Crimson Tide in the bracket, but they didn’t even move them, despite a bad loss in the SEC title game, but clearly the committee preferred Alabama’s entire strength of schedule and record over what happened on Saturday alone.

10. Miami

The biggest decision facing the selection committee has been made, and it will be the Hurricanes instead of Notre Dame, as the playoff pickers ultimately thought more of the head-to-head win that Miami had over the Irish in the season opener.

11. Tulane

The highest-ranked Group of Five team after an emphatic defensive performance to ground North Texas’ dynamic offense and win the American championship.

12. James Madison

The loss by Virginia in the ACC championship paved the way for the committee to exclude the conference from the field and elevate the Sun Belt champion, one-loss Dukes in a historic move to include a second Group of Five team.

The 2025 College Football Playoff bracket

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

First Round Byes

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

12 James Madison at 5 Oregon
Winner plays 4 Texas Tech

11 Tulane at 6 Ole Miss
Winner plays 3 Georgia

10 Miami at 7 Texas A&M
Winner plays 2 Ohio State

9 Alabama at 8 Oklahoma
Winner plays 1 Indiana

First team out: Notre Dame

Second team out: BYU

College Football Playoff rankings

Teams included in the College Football Playoff are in bold

1. Indiana
2. Ohio State
3. Georgia
4. Texas Tech
5. Oregon
6. Ole Miss
7. Texas A&M
8. Oklahoma
9. Alabama
10. Miami
11. Notre Dame
12. BYU
13. Texas
14. Vanderbilt
15. Utah
16. USC
17. Arizona
18. Michigan
19. Virginia
20. Tulane
21. Houston
22. Georgia Tech
23. Iowa
24. James Madison
25. North Texas

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