December and January offered college football fans something they hadn’t experienced before with the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. For a month straight, fans were treated with some exciting games that ultimately crowned a national champion. With the format slightly tweaked to ensure some even more competitive matchups, the 12-team field is back in 2025.
For better or worse (that’s for you to decide), the 12-team format offers a wider range of teams a chance to win it all, which could
bode well for a team like Michigan this year that should be “pretty good,” even if it is not among the nation’s elite. Although it might be a bit early, let’s take our best crack at what the 2025 field could look like.
As a reminder, the format of the playoff was adjusted this year with seeding now being determined by the committee rankings alone. Five auto-bids are still reserved for the five best conference champions.
Top 4 seeds – Title favorites
Texas (1), Penn State (2), Clemson (3), Alabama (4)
Coming into the season, Texas is No. 1 in the AP Poll for good reason, as it returns a ton of talent on both sides of the ball. Arch Manning is set to take over as the starting quarterback, while the defense should be one of the best, if not the best in the country. Penn State should be the favorite to win the Big Ten, and an undefeated season isn’t out of the question. Look for a big year out of Drew Allar leading the way for the Nittany Lions.
Experts seem to love Clemson as well, as the Tigers made their return to the CFP last year after a three-year hiatus. Clemson doesn’t exactly have the hardest schedule in the ACC, and its veteran squad — led by one of the nation’s best quarterbacks in Cade Klubnik — shouldn’t have a problem navigating its way back into the title conversation.
Alabama appears to be the next-best team in the SEC this year with Ty Simpson set to take over under center. Ryan Williams, Germie Bernard and Jam Miller help make up a talented skill group around him, giving the Tide the chance to have one of the best offenses in the country. Alabama has tough matchups with Georgia and LSU, but other than that, it has a rather manageable schedule.
Next 4 seeds – Sleeper teams
Notre Dame (5), Oregon (6), Georgia (7), Michigan (8)
We’ve entered the tier where things start getting crazy, and we’ll kick it off with Notre Dame making it back to the playoff for the second consecutive year. Marcus Freeman has his program trending in the right direction and the Irish return a handful of great players from last year’s team, including defensive back Leonard Moore and running back Jeremiyah Love, two of the very best at their positions in the country.
Behind the Irish, Oregon also appears to be a good bet to make it back in. The Ducks lost talent from last season, but added plenty of depth in the portal on both sides of the ball to supplement the losses. Detroit native Dante Moore steps in as the starting quarterback, and he’ll be the X-factor that determines how far Oregon goes.
Georgia should return to its dominant ways as well with Gunner Stockton leading the charge for what should be a solid offense with pieces like Nate Frazier, Dillon Bell, and newcomer Zachariah Branch. As for Michigan, I like the Wolverines to find their way back to the playoff after a down year in 2024. Their depth is great across the board on defense, while the offense should be much improved with Bryce Underwood and Chip Lindsey leading the way. Furthermore, Michigan doesn’t exactly have a murderer’s row of a schedule this year, meaning its path is favorable to make it back into the bracket.
Last 4 in – The shrug emoji tier
Ohio State (9), Miami (10), Texas Tech (11), Boise State (12)
You’re guess is as good as mine when it comes to the final group of teams that could make the playoff field. One thing I do know is this group will likely feature the Big 12 champion and a Group of Five team that slips in as the No. 12 seed.
Coming off a national championship, Ohio State should be a fine team in 2025, but I don’t see the Buckeyes competing for a title again with so much to replace on both sides of the ball. Jeremiah Smith and Caleb Downs are back, but they can only do so much on their own.
The bold pick here is Miami, which just missed out on a playoff berth last season. This year, Georgia transfer Carson Beck steps in as the starting quarterback. The Hurricanes face early-season challenges against Notre Dame and Florida, but have a workable schedule overall.
The Big 12 will reprise its role as the most chaotic conference in the country this year, so we’ll get crazy and have Texas Tech as the conference champion. The Red Raiders are poised to step up under Joey McGuire this year after going crazy in the transfer portal this offseason, so we’ll bet on the added talent to lead them to the CFP. Boise State seems like a good bet to repeat as the Group of Five representative even without Ashton Jeanty, but look for James Madison and Navy as potential candidates to jump in here as well.
