College Football Playoff rankings: Updated 12-team bracket revealed in second CFP poll of 2025

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• College Football Playoff rankings
• College Football Playoff bracket
• College Football Playoff predictions
• How College Football Playoff format works
• College Football Playoff rankings release schedule

There have been plenty of twists and turns throughout the 2025 college football season. Week 11 brought precious few, though — save for a dramatic Indiana win over Penn State and Texas Tech's beatdown of previously unbeaten BYU.

That made for a fairly routine CFP bracket reveal on Tuesday night, although there were a few unexpected wrinkles.

Those aforementioned Red Raiders vaulted to No. 6 with their glimmering showing against the Cougars. Nothing is guaranteed on the gridiron. But Texas Tech's remaining schedule appears to set it up for a Big 12 Championship Game berth, as long as it gets its job done.

A new side cracked the bracket, with South Florida replacing Memphis as the Group of Five representative. The Bulls have been the steadiest of the American's powerhouses. Their resume looks fairly teflon, although perhaps Tulane can give them some competition.

Miami has enjoyed an uneven campaign. Yet, despite two losses and a seventh-place ranking in the current ACC standings, the Hurricanes landed the last at-large bid in this week's field. Their distinction will come as a surprise to Georgia Tech, who currently sits at the top of the conference.

All told, the haves and have-nots were fairly similar after Week 11's contests. Who are the biggest movers and shakers in the most recent CFP poll? Here's what you need to know.

STREAM: Watch the second CFP rankings show live with Fubo (free trial)

College Football Playoff rankings 2025

Who are the top 12 teams in second CFP bracket poll?

MORE: What are BYU's CFP chances after loss to Texas Tech?

The top of the CFP remains unchanged through two weeks, with defending national champion Ohio State retaining its spot atop the ladder. The Buckeyes kept their unbeaten start alive with a 34-10 win over Purdue during the weekend.

Indiana and Texas A&M slot in at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, with the former holding on against Penn State and the latter breezing past Missouri. Both sides look well-equipped to finish the regular season unbeaten and have two ranked wins to their name; the Hoosiers downed Illinois and Oregon, while the Aggies conquered Notre Dame and LSU.

Rounding out the top four is Alabama, whose defense shined in a 20-9 win over the Tigers.
Georgia leads the list of sides currently pegged to host a first-round matchup. The Bulldogs are joined by Texas Tech, Ole Miss and Oregon, the former of whom took sole control of the Big 12 with a momentous win over previously unbeaten BYU.

The Longhorns slide into the top-10 after the bye week. The Arch Manning-led side faces perhaps its most important test on Saturday when it takes on Georgia. A defeat at the hands of the Bulldogs would represent a third, a potentially fatal blow to their playoff chances.

Oklahoma and aforementioned BYU also are in the mix at the cellar of cellar of the top-12, although their placement in the CFP bracket is under threat from Georgia Tech and USF. Both the Yellow Jackets and Bulls would be due automatic bids as the top-ranked ACC and Group of Five teams, respectively.

First four teams out

Behold, the "first four out!" That's a bit of a misnomer: teams outside of the top-12 can, indeed, qualify for the CFP bracket. That was the case for No. 15 Miami who are pegged to take a place among the top-12 teams despite currently being projected to miss the ACC championship game altogether.

A bye week didn't help nor hurt Utah, which slotted into No. 13 for the second straight week. Perhaps things could've been different had the Utes bested the Cougars in mid-October. Their loss to the Red Raiders doesn't look nearly as gnarly as it once did, however.

Vanderbilt and Miami find themselves on the outside looking in of bracket contention in Week 12. The former enjoyed a scorching start to the year, although losses to Alabama and Texas have cooled CFP interest.

Georgia Tech rounds out the top-16. Projected to compete in the ACC championship, the Yellow Jackets might consider themselves aggrieved given the Hurricanes' ranking.

MORE: Could Mike Elko's 9-0 Aggies actually run the table?

Rest of the top 25

Big Ten sides are well-represented in the backend of the top-25, with USC, Michigan and Iowa placing at No. 17, No. 18 and No. 21, respectively.

Virginia's shock loss to Wake Forest precipitated a tumble down the CFP standings — and allowed the Hurricanes to climb into prime real estate.

Tennessee's season came off the rails a bit after defeats to Alabama and, most recently, Oklahoma. The Vols are all but assured to miss out on the New Year's Six.

South Florida bested James Madison in the latest standings to wave the flag as the sole Group of Five representative in the top-25. For their services, the Bulls were rewarded with. A CFP place...for now.

College Football Playoff bracket 2025

MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF NEWS:

• Explaining the CFP bracket format for 2026
• Comparing every CFP ranking from 2014 to final Top 25
• Breaking down Group of 5 playoff odds: Who will get the 12 seed?

How College Football Playoff format works in 2025

The 12-team CFP format popularized in 2024 returns to the fore in 2025. However, there are some differences to this year's bracket.

Automatic bids are given to the top five highest-ranked conference champions. In a change from 2024 though, the four highest-ranked teams will get the top four seeds and the first-round bye, regardless of whether or not they won their conference. There are seven at-large bids available for non-conference champs.

While the top four seeds get the bye, seeds 5-12 will play in the first round. 

Here's a look at how the College Football Playoff seeding will play out:

First round

• No. 1 team (bye)
• No. 2 team (bye)
• No. 3 team (bye)
• No. 4 team (bye)
• No. 12 team at No. 5 team
• No. 11 team at No. 6 team
• No. 10 team at No. 7 team
• No. 9 team at No. 8 team

Quarterfinals

• No. 1 team vs. No. 8/9 team
• No. 2 team vs. No. 7/10 team
• No. 3 team vs. No. 6/11 team
• No. 4 team vs. No. 5/12 team

College Football Playoff predictions

Here are AllSportsPeople' first CFP bracket projections for Week 12, according to Bill Bender:

MORE: LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier benched in loss to Alabama

College Football Playoff rankings release schedule 2025

A weekly CFP ranking reveal show will be available to watch on ESPN every Tuesday until Sunday, Dec. 7 — Selection Day. The time for the show will vary by week. The schedule is listed below.