CFP teams record after a bye: Higher seeds drop to 0-6 after Ohio State, Texas Tech losses

Morgan Moriarty

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CFP teams record after a bye: Higher seeds drop to 0-6 after Ohio State, Texas Tech losses image

The curse of the first-round bye might be a real thing in the 12-team College Football Playoff. In the first two seasons of the new, expanded system, we have seen teams that earn a first-round bye go 0-6 in the playoff.

In the 12-team format, the selection committee awards first-round byes to the top four seeds in the playoff. Usually, those four seeds are the top four conference champions.

That gives the No. 1-4 seeds close to three weeks without playing a game, given the time between the first-round and quarterfinal games. Let's take a closer look at playoff teams' records with first-round byes.

MORE: Biggest CFP upsets ever: Where Miami-Ohio State ranks 

CFP teams record after a bye

College Football Playoff teams are now 0-6 in the playoff when receiving a first-round bye. That includes last year's No. 1 Oregon team, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Boise State and No. 4 Arizona State. 

So far this year, No. 2 Ohio State fell 24-14 to Miami on New Year's Eve, and No. 4 Texas Tech fell 23-0 to Oregon. 

While on paper, it appears that first-round bye teams going 0-6 is a concerning trend, there is some necessary context to be added here. Five of the six teams that won, excluding Wednesday evening's Miami win over OSU, were favored. The only upset so far in these first-round by teams losing has been Miami (9.5-point underdogs) over Ohio State. Oregon was a 2.5-point favorite against Texas Tech. 

But a deeper look at the numbers, and it's clear that first-round byes at least hinder offenses. Teams with first-round byes have been outscored consistently early in these games: 

After Ohio State's loss to Miami, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day was asked about the Buckeyes' 25 days off in between the Big Ten title game and playoff game. 

"I felt like it took us a while to get into the rhythm of the game," Day said. 

"When you have a start the way that we did, you put yourself at risk of having to be really darn near perfect in the second half to go win the game," he continued. "We put ourselves behind the 8-ball."

"We worked really hard during the last three weeks leading up to this game to come out of the gates and win the first quarter, win the first half, be ready to go. I thought we had an excellent plan on that and what we did. I think the guys bought into it. But at the end of the day, we didn't get it done. That starts with me and goes down from there. I take responsibility for not getting the guys ready."

Let's take a closer look at how first-round bye teams have done in the first two years of the 12-team playoff. 

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No. 5 Texas 39. No. 4 Arizona State 31

Arizona State was a surprise team in last year’s playoff, earning the No. 4 seed as Big 12 champions. Still, Texas was a 13.5-point favorite.

Early in the Peach Bowl semifinal, Texas jumped out to a 17-3 lead in the first half. Early in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns were up 24-8. But the Sun Devils refused to go away quietly, scoring 14 unanswered points in the game’s final five minutes. ASU was helped by a forced interception of Quinn Ewers and a pair of missed field goals.

The game went into double overtime, with Texas prevailing 39-31.

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No. 8 Ohio State 41, No. 1 Oregon 21

Oregon was the favorite to win it all last season. The Ducks finished a perfect 13-0 as Big Ten Champions to secure the No. 1 seed. 

Its first playoff opponent was Ohio State, whom the Ducks had beaten in the regular season and was coming off a fourth-straight loss to rival Michigan. Oregon was listed as a 2.5-point underdog.  

The Buckeyes destroyed Oregon in the first half, going up 34-0 in the first half, and won 41-21. 
 

No. 7 Notre Dame 23,  No. 2 Georgia 10 

Although Georgia earned the higher seed, the Dawgs losing to Notre Dame wasn’t too much of a surprise. Georgia lost its starting quarterback, Carson Beck, to a season-ending elbow injury in the SEC Championship Game earlier in the season. His backup, true freshman Gunner Stockton, was thrust into the starting role.

Notre Dame led 13-3 at halftime and won by 13 points. The Bulldogs actually outgained Notre Dame, 296 yards to 244, but Georgia lost two fumbles and was stopped on all three of its fourth-down attempts.

No. 6 Penn State 31, No. 4 Boise State 14

Boise State was the first Cinderella team of the 12-team playoff, earning the first-ever Group of Five bid in the expanded field. The Broncos faced a 12-2 Penn State team that defeated SMU at home in the first round. 

Boise State was an 11.5-point underdog. Penn State led 17-7 at halftime, and won 31-14.  Boise State  and 

No. 10 Miami 24, No. 2 Ohio State 14

Miami earned a bid despite being one of the bubble teams at the end of the season. Despite finishing with two losses and failing to reach the ACC title game, the committee gave the Canes a bid in the end, citing its Week 1 win over Notre Dame. In the first round, Miami went on the road and beat Texas A&M 10-3. 

Ohio State, meanwhile, was a 9-point favorite, with just one loss to Indiana in the Big Ten title game. Miami led 14-0 at halftime, helped by a pick-six to make it a two-score lead. Although the Buckeyes scored a touchdown to open the second half, Miami scored a fourth-quarter touchdown to put the game out of reach. The victory marked the biggest upset in CFP history, dating back to 2014

MORE: Just how bad was Texas Tech's offense in loss to Oregon?

No. 5 Oregon 23, Texas Tech 0

Texas Tech had a dream season in 2025, winning the Big 12 for the first time in school history and finishing 12-1. Oregon, meanwhile, beat James Madison 51-34 in the first round as the No. 5 seed. 

The Ducks defense shutout Texas Tech 23-0 to bring CFP teams with first-round byes to an 0-6 record. 

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