The 2024–25 College Football Playoff was a single-elimination postseason tournament that determined the national champion of the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the 11th edition of the College Football Playoff (CFP).
Following the first 10 iterations of the College Football Playoff comprising four teams, the 2024–25 playoff was the first to include 12 teams as ranked by the College Football Playoff poll. The five highest-ranked conference champions, including at least one from the Group of Five conferences, were selected to compete, along with the next seven highest-ranked teams. Furthermore, this was the only iteration of the 12-team playoff where the four highest-ranked conference champions each received a first-round bye in the playoff, as the format was changed to have the four highest-ranked teams overall receive a first-round bye for the 2025 season.
The playoff bracket's first-round games were held on December20 and 21 at respective campus sites; the higher ranked team was victorious in all four games. In the quarterfinals, played on December31, January1, and January2 at the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl, the top four seeds played the teams that won their first-round games. All four top seeds lost in the quarterfinals, with all the first round winners having won both of their first two CFP games to advance to the semifinals, held at the Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl Classic, played on January9 and 10, respectively. Like the quarterfinals, all higher seeds were defeated, with 7th seed Notre Dame and 8th seed Ohio State advancing to play in the College Football Playoff National Championship on January20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. In the championship game, Ohio State beat Notre Dame 34–23 to win their second CFP national championship and their ninth in school history.
Games
The tournament was structured as a single-elimination bracket tournament, with 12 teams playing a total of 11 games. The first round featured the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion (Clemson) and seven at large bids, seeded based on the final CFP rankings, which were released after conference championship games had been played. The first-round winners advanced to face the four highest-ranked conference champions in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinal and semifinal contests utilized six of the 2024–25 NCAA football bowl games. These bowls, commonly known as the New Year's Six, are some of the oldest (and historically, most prestigious) bowl games.
Schedule All times are Eastern Time • Schedule source
Round Date Time Matchup Game Location TV First round 8:00 p.m. Indiana 17, Notre Dame 27 First round(Campus sites) Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana ABC/ESPN 12:00 p.m. SMU 10, Penn State 38 Beaver Stadium • University Park, Pennsylvania TNT/TBS/TruTV/Max 4:00 p.m. Clemson 24, Texas 38 DKR–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, Texas 8:00 p.m. Tennessee 17, Ohio State 42 Ohio Stadium • Columbus, Ohio ABC/ESPN Quarterfinals 7:30 p.m. Penn State 31, Boise State 14 Fiesta Bowl State Farm Stadium • Glendale, Arizona ESPN 1:00 p.m. Texas 39, Arizona State 31 () Peach Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia 5:00 p.m. Ohio State 41, Oregon 21 Rose Bowl Rose Bowl • Pasadena, California 4:00 p.m. Notre Dame 23, Georgia 10 Sugar Bowl Caesars Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana Semifinals 7:30 p.m. Notre Dame 27, Penn State 24 Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, Florida 7:30 p.m. Ohio State 28, Texas 14 Cotton Bowl Classic AT&T Stadium • Arlington, Texas Championship 7:30 p.m. Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 23 National Championship Mercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia
Bracket
Selection and teams
The 2024–25 CFP selection committee was chaired by Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel. Its other members were former Nevada head coach and athletic director Chris Ault, Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk Jr., former head coach Jim Grobe, former NFL player Randall McDaniel, former head coach Gary Pinkel, Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades, former head coach Mike Riley, Miami (OH) athletic director David Sayler, former NFL player Will Shields, former USA Today reporter Kelly Whiteside, Virginia athletic director Carla Williams, and Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek.
The first CFP rankings of the season were released on November5. Oregon was the first No.1-ranked team of the season, and was projected to earn a first-round bye as leaders of the Big Ten Conference. The other three highest-ranked conference leaders, each in line to earn first round byes, were No.3 Georgia from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), No.4 Miami (FL) from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and No.9 BYU from the Big 12 Conference. No.12 Boise State from the Mountain West Conference (MWC) was the highest-ranked Group of Five leader, and the rest of the projected field was filled in by No.2 Ohio State (Big Ten), No.5 Texas (SEC), No.6 Penn State (Big Ten), No.7 Tennessee (SEC), No.8 Indiana (Big Ten), No.10 Notre Dame (FBS independent), and No.11 Alabama (SEC).
During the week following the first rankings release, two top ten teams were defeated, with No.16 Ole Miss beating Georgia and Georgia Tech upsetting Miami to deal them their first loss of the season. As a result, Miami dropped to No.9 and Georgia to No.12. This dropped Georgia out of the projected playoff field, as No.13 Boise State stood to be selected as the 12-seed by virtue of their position as the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. Texas, Penn State, Indiana, and BYU each moved up to fill out the remainder of the top six behind Oregon and Ohio State, with Texas also becoming the SEC leader in line to earn a first-round bye. Ole Miss also moved into playoff position.
Following the second rankings' release, Georgia's rivalry game victory over Tennessee and Kansas' upset of BYU moved the Bulldogs back into playoff position at the Volunteers' expense while Boise State moved ahead of BYU into position for a first-round bye. After the third rankings' release, Oklahoma's upset of Alabama and Florida's upset of Ole Miss respectively knocked the Crimson Tide and the Rebels out of playoff position. Tennessee moved back into the top 12, while SMU cracked the top 12 for the first time after clinching an ACC Championship Game berth in their first year in the conference. Ohio State's win over Indiana to deal them their first loss of the season also dropped the Hoosiers to 10th, while Arizona State's win over BYU also put them into playoff position as the Big12 leader. Following the fourth rankings' release, Ohio State's upset loss to archrival Michigan knocked them down to 6th, while Miami's upset loss to Syracuse knocked them out of playoff position, with Alabama re-entering the top 12.
During the conference championships, Georgia beat Texas in overtime in the SEC Championship to secure a berth. Meanwhile, Clemson beat SMU on a last-second field goal to win the ACC Championship and secure a berth, which also gave Boise State and Arizona State first-round byes after they won the Mountain West and Big12 championships, respectively. SMU's loss to Clemson sparked debate over whether the Mustangs or the Crimson Tide deserved a playoff berth. Alabama had a higher strength of schedule than SMU but had lost to multiple unranked teams – in addition to their loss to Oklahoma, the Crimson Tide had lost to Vanderbilt. The committee ultimately ranked SMU higher than Alabama, giving SMU the final at-large berth in the playoff bracket and sending the Crimson Tide to face Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl, a rematch of the 2024 Rose Bowl CFP semifinal.
+2024 College Football Playoff rankings top sixteen progressionWeek 9November 5Week 10November 12Week 11 November 19Week 12 November 26Week 13 December 3Final December 81 Oregon (9–0) Oregon (10–0) Oregon (11–0) Oregon (11–0) Oregon (12–0)Oregon (13–0)2 Ohio State (7–1) Ohio State (8–1) Ohio State (9–1) Ohio State (10–1) Texas (11–1) Georgia (11–2)3 Georgia (7–1) Texas (8–1) Texas (9–1) Texas (10–1) Penn State (11–1) Texas (11–2)4 Miami (FL) (9–0) Penn State (8–1) Penn State (9–1) Penn State (10–1) Notre Dame (11–1) Penn State (11–2)5 Texas (7–1) Indiana (10–0) Indiana (10–0)Notre Dame (10–1)Georgia (10–2)Notre Dame (11–1)6 Penn State (7–1) BYU (9–0)Notre Dame (9–1)Miami (FL) (10–1)Ohio State (10–2) Ohio State (10–2)7 Tennessee (7–1) Tennessee (8–1)Alabama (8–2)Georgia (9–2)Tennessee (10–2)Tennessee (10–2)8 Indiana (9–0) Notre Dame (8–1)Miami (FL) (9–1)Tennessee (9–2)SMU (11–1)Indiana (11–1)9 BYU (8–0)Miami (FL) (9–1)Ole Miss (8–2)SMU (10–1)Indiana (11–1)Boise State (12–1)10 Notre Dame (7–1) Alabama (7–2)Georgia (8–2)Indiana (10–1)Boise State (11–1)SMU (11–2)11 Alabama (6–2) Ole Miss (8–2)Tennessee (8–2)Boise State (10–1)Alabama (9–3) Alabama (9–3)12 Boise State (7–1) Georgia (7–2)Boise State (9–1)Clemson (9–2)Miami (FL) (10–2)Arizona State (11–2)13 SMU (8–1) Boise State (8–1)SMU (9–1)Alabama (8–3)Ole Miss (9–3)Miami (FL) (10–2)14 Texas A&M (7–2) SMU (8–1)BYU (9–1)Ole Miss (8–3)South Carolina (9–3)Ole Miss (9–3)15 LSU (6–2) Texas A&M (7–2) Texas A&M (8–2)South Carolina (8–3)Arizona State (10–2)South Carolina (9–3)16 Ole Miss (7–2)Kansas State (7–2)Colorado (8–2)Arizona State (9–2)Iowa State (10–2)Clemson (10–3) + Key Teams in boldface are leading their conference at time of rankings release (or conference winners in the case of the final rankings). The five highest-ranked conference champions, including at least one from the Group of Five conferences, will be selected. The four highest-ranked conference champions will receive first-round byes. The cutoff line represents the threshold of the top 12 teams as ranked by the CFP poll. A team ranked lower than 12 may still qualify, if it is one of the five highest-ranked conference champions. If that occurs, then that will displace the lowest ranked team in the top 12 that is not a conference champion. Denotes teams who rose in the rankings compared to the previous week. Denotes teams who fell in the rankings compared to the previous week. Denotes teams whose rankings or conference championship victory resulted in a berth for the College Football Playoff.
Participants TeamConferenceQualification methodCollege Football PlayoffAppearanceLast bidResult of last appearance Arizona State Big 12 Conference 11–2 (7–2) Conference champion First appearance Boise State Mountain West Conference 12–1 (7–0) Conference champion First appearance Clemson Atlantic Coast Conference 10–3 (7–1) Conference champion 7th 2020 Lost to Ohio State in the semifinals Georgia Southeastern Conference 11–2 (6–2) Conference champion 4th 2022 Defeated TCU in National Championship Indiana Big Ten Conference 11–1 (8–1) At-large First appearance Notre Dame Independent 11–1 At-large 3rd 2020 Lost to Alabama in the semifinals Ohio State Big Ten Conference 10–2 (7–2) At-large 6th 2022 Lost to Georgia in the semifinals Oregon Big Ten Conference 13–0 (9–0) Conference champion 2nd 2014 Lost to Ohio State in the National Championship Penn State Big Ten Conference 11–2 (8–1) At-large First appearance SMU Atlantic Coast Conference 11–2 (8–0) At-large First appearance Tennessee Southeastern Conference 10–2 (6–2) At-large First appearance Texas Southeastern Conference 11–2 (7–1) At-large 2nd 2023 Lost to Washington in the semifinals
Game summaries First round Indiana at Notre Dame
The 12-team CFP began with the first-round game between No. 8 Indiana, the 10-seed, and No. 5 Notre Dame, the 7-seed. It was the 30th all-time meeting between the teams and the first since a Notre Dame win in 1991. The game marked Indiana's CFP debut and Notre Dame's third CFP appearance. Notre Dame's longstanding media rights deal with NBC meant this was the first Fighting Irish home game since 1990 not to air on NBC.