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

Daniel Mader

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

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It was a relatively quiet weekend in college football — only one team ranked in the top 20 of the most recent AP Poll, Georgia Tech, suffered a loss. But the College Football Playoff rankings still saw a few interesting shake-ups anyway. 

On Tuesday night, the committee unveiled its fourth playoff rankings of the 2025 season. Just one ranking remains before Selection Sunday, when the 12-team bracket will finally be set in stone. And with Rivalry Week coming up, there’s sure to be plenty of chaos in Week 14 before conference championships begin.

There’s also plenty that remains up in the air for the 2025 CFP, even with the lack of upsets in Week 13. Not one Power 4 team has secured a conference championship berth yet, while the ACC and Group of Five spots in the bracket have been virtually wide open for weeks. With just one regular-season game remaining, which teams are the front-runners to earn a first-round bye? Which squads are on the outside looking in?

AllSportsPeople tracked the College Football Playoff committee’s rankings ahead of Week 14. Here’s how the committee ranked the top 25, along with a look at the projected bracket.

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

College Football Playoff rankings 2025

Who are the top 12 teams in CFP bracket poll?

RankingTeamRecord
1.Ohio State11-0
2.Indiana11-0
3.Texas A&M11-0
4.Georgia10-1
5.Texas Tech10-1
6.Oregon10-1
7.Ole Miss10-1
8.Oklahoma9-2
9.Notre Dame9-2
10.Alabama9-2
11.BYU10-1
12.Miami9-2

There weren't too many notable moves in this week's top 12, with only two changes of significance. One was that Oregon jumped Ole Miss to claim the No. 6 spot, with the committee rewarding the Ducks for their win over USC in Week 13. With Lane Kiffin's ongoing saga over his future at Ole Miss, the Rebels dropped a spot despite beating Florida last week.

The other bigger change was Utah falling out of the top-12, with Miami taking its place. The Hurricanes remain the projected ACC champion in the bracket. BYU is the only top-12 team that would not be in the official bracket. 

Ohio State, Indiana and Texas A&M remain the class of the rankings at the top.

First four teams out

RankingTeamRecord
13.Utah9-2
14.Vanderbilt9-2
15.Michigan9-2
16.Texas8-3

The Utes fell after a 51-47 win over Kansas State. With Texas A&M having control over the Big 12, Utah's playoff chances will likely come down to whether the Aggies or BYU will lose control over their projected Big 12 title game appearances, losing in Week 14.

Michigan moved up from No. 18 to No. 15 after beating Maryland last week. 

Texas, at No. 16, will be one of the most fascinating teams to watch in Rivalry Week, as a win over Texas A&M could build the Longhorns a real playoff case despite three losses.

Rest of the top 25

RankingTeamRecord
17.USC8-3
18.Virginia9-2
19.Tennessee8-3
20.Arizona State8-3
21.SMU8-3
22.Pittsburgh8-3
23.Georgia Tech9-2
24.Tulane9-2
25.Arizona8-3

Rounding out the rest of the rankings, USC fell from No. 15 to 17 following its loss to Oregon. The biggest faller, though, was Georgia Tech, which went from No. 16 last week to No. 23 this week following its loss to Pitt. 

Once again, the projected Group of Five team is Tulane, despite the Green Wave having two losses, while James Madison and North Texas each have one loss. 

TIEBREAKER SCENARIOS: ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | SEC

College Football Playoff bracket 2025

College Football Playoff predictions

Here's how TSN's Bill Bender projected the 12-team College Football Playoff for Week 14.

SeedTeamRecord
1.Ohio State11-0
2.Texas A&M11-0
3.Indiana11-0
4.Georgia10-1
5.Texas Tech10-1
6.Ole Miss10-1
7.Oregon10-1
8.Oklahoma9-2
9.Notre Dame9-2
10.Alabama9-2
11.Virginia9-2
12.Tulane9-2

MORE: College football picks, predictions for Week 14 games

How College Football Playoff format works in 2025

While this is the second year of the 12-team playoff, the format is different than last season.

The five highest-ranked conference champions will earn automatic bids, while the next seven-best non-conference champions will earn the wild card spots. From there, the 12 teams in the field will be seeded by ranking, regardless of whether they won their conference championship.

Therefore, the four highest-ranked teams in the field will earn byes, with seeds Nos. 5-12 playing in the first round of the Playoff.

First round

  • No. 5 team at No. 12 team
  • No. 6 team at No. 11 team
  • No. 7 team at No. 10 team
  • No. 8 team at No. 9 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
GameDate
First roundDec. 19-20
Cotton Bowl (Quarterfinals)Dec. 31
Orange Bowl (Quarterfinals)Jan. 1
Rose Bowl (Quarterfinals)Jan. 1
Sugar Bowl (Quarterfinals)Jan. 1
Fiesta Bowl (Semifinals)Jan. 8
Peach Bowl (Semifinals)Jan. 8
National ChampionshipJan. 19

MORE: Would Lane Kiffin really leave Ole Miss before CFP run?

What time are College Football Playoff rankings released?

Here's a look at the College Football Playoff rankings release schedule for the rest of the year.

DateTime (ET)TV ChannelLive Stream
Tuesday, Nov. 257:00 p.m.ESPNFubo
Tuesday, Dec. 27:00 p.m.ESPNFubo
Sunday, Dec. 7 (Selection show)12:00 p.m.ESPNFubo
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