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Here’s how the College Football Playoff bracket looks based on the CFP selection committee’s second top 25 rankings of the 2025-26 college football season, as announced on Tuesday, Nov. 11.
This is not the final, official CFP bracket. That won’t be revealed until Sunday, Dec. 7. This bracket is just how it would look now based on the most recent CFP rankings.
2025-26 College Football Playoff bracket
This bracket uses the second selection committee top 25 rankings on Tuesday, Nov. 11. There are still three more in-season rankings before the committee’s final rankings — and the official College Football Playoff bracket — is revealed on Sunday, Dec. 7.
The top 25 ranking does not always match the seed in the playoff, as the five highest-ranked conference champions get in automatically, even if they are ranked behind teams in the top 25 or not ranked in the top 25 at all.
Here’s how the matchups look:
First Round (and related quarterfinal matchups)
No. 12 South Florida at No. 5 Georgia
Winner vs. No. 4 Alabama in the quarterfinals
No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oregon
Winner vs. No. 1 Ohio State in the quarterfinals
No. 11 Miami (Fla.) at No. 6 Texas Tech
Winner vs. No. 3 Texas A&M in the quarterfinals
No. 10 Texas at No. 7 Ole Miss
Winner vs. No. 2 Indiana in the quarterfinals
College Football Playoff rankings, seeds
The four highest-ranked teams — regardless of how they finish in their conference — receive first round byes into the quarterfinals. These teams are listed in bold. All teams in the bracket are in italics. The five highest-ranked conference champions receive automatic bids.
Here are the initial CFP top 25 rankings.
Ohio State: 9-0
Indiana: 10-0
Texas A&M: 9-0
Alabama: 8-1
Georgia: 8-1
Texas Tech: 9-1
Ole Miss: 9-1
Oregon: 8-1
Notre Dame: 7-2
Texas: 7-2
Oklahoma: 7-2 (first team out of the CFP)
BYU: 8-1
Utah: 7-2
Vanderbilt: 8-2
Miami (Fla.): 7-2 (fourth highest-ranked conference champion)
Georgia Tech: 8-1
USC: 7-2
Michigan: 7-2
Virginia: 8-2
Louisville: 7-2
Iowa: 6-3
Pitt: 7-2
Tennessee: 6-3
South Florida: 7-2 (fifth highest-ranked conference champion)
Cincinnati: 7-2
There is no re-seeding of the bracket.
The four quarterfinal games are not played on campus sites like in the first round. The quarterfinals, scheduled on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 — will be played at the Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The four highest-ranked teams will be assigned one of these bowls in consideration of historic bowl relationships as well as seeding.
The four quarterfinal winners will then meet in the semifinals at the Fiesta Bowl or the Peach Bowl on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9. If the seeds hold, that means No. 1 would play No. 4 and No. 2 would play No. 3. The two semifinal winners will then play on Monday, Jan. 19 in Miami for the CFP national championship.
2025-26 College Football Playoff schedule
First round (Dec. 19-20) — on campus
Friday, Dec. 19
8 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN, WatchESPN
Saturday, Dec. 20:
12 p.m. on ABC, ESPN, WatchESPN
3:30 p.m. on TNT, truTV, HBO Max
7:30 p.m. on TNT, truTV, HBO Max
Quarterfinals (Dec. 31-Jan. 1)
Wednesday, Dec. 31
Cotton Bowl (Arlington, Texas) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
Thursday, Jan. 1
Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, Fla.) | 12 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
Rose Bowl (Pasadena, Calif.) | 4 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
Sugar Bowl (New Orleans) | 8 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
Semifinals (Jan. 8-9)
Thursday, Jan. 8
Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Ariz.) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
Friday, Jan. 9
Peach Bowl (Atlanta) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
College Football Playoff National Championship Game
Monday, Jan. 19
Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN, WatchESPN
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