The most chaotic College Football Playoff selection process in the history of the event — given it is the first year of the 12-team bracket — concluded Sunday, though there was little debate as to which program would earn the No. 1 seed. Despite playing to the wire in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday night, Oregon (13-0) ultimately finished the 2024 season undefeated and captured the top spot in the playoff making its return to the postseason field for the first time in a decade.
Fresh off a win in the SEC Championship Game, Georgia (11-2) earned the No. 2 seed with Mountain West champion Boise State (12-1) and Big 12 champion Arizona State (11-2) rounding out the top four seeds — all conference title holders receiving first-round byes as part of the new 12-team format.
Clemson (10-3), the lone Power Four champion not to receive a bye, picked up the No. 12 seed and will open the first round playing at No. 5 seed Texas (11-2). All first-round games will be held at the sites of the lower-seeded teams placed higher in the final CFP Rankings.
Rounding out the first-round matchups, No. 8 seed Ohio State (10-2) will host No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2), No. 6 seed Penn State (11-2) welcomes No. 11 seed SMU (10-2) and No. 7 seed Notre Dame (11-1) will see No. 10 seed Indiana (11-1) come to town.
Quarterfinal and semifinal games will be held at traditional New Year’s Six bowl sites. The Rose Bowl will host Oregon and the winner of Tennessee-Ohio State, the Sugar Bowl gets Georgia and the winner of Indiana-Notre Dame, the Fiesta Bowl hosts Boise vs. the winner of SMU-Penn State and the Peach Bowl draws Arizona State vs. either Texas or Clemson.
in the semifinals, the Orange Bowl hosts the winners from the Georgia-Boise State side of the bracket. The Cotton Bowl will host whichever teams emerge from the Oregon-Arizona State side.
SMU was ultimately chosen as the last at-large team over Alabama (9-3), which did not compete in conference championship weekend and was ultimately deemed by the CFP Selection Committee to have suffered worse losses that overshadowed its better wins.
Let’s take a look at the 12 teams that make up the first expanded College Football Playoff.
2024-25 College Football Playoff bracket
* Automatic bid | ^ First-round bye | ~ First-round host
No. 1 seed Oregon*^ (13-0): Returning to the playoff for the first time since the inaugural field (2014-15), the Ducks completed an undefeated regular season with notable wins at home over Ohio State and Illinois and over Penn State in the Big Ten title game.
No. 2 seed Georgia*^ (11-2): Winners of two out of the last three national titles, the Bulldogs had hiccups with road losses at Alabama and Ole Miss but picked up ranked wins over Clemson, Texas, Tennessee and the Longhorns a second time in the SEC title game.
No. 3 seed Boise State*^ (12-1): College football’s original postseason Cinderella, the Broncos notably put their program on the map winning the 2006 Fiesta Bowl over Oklahoma. This marks Boise State’s first CFP bid with its one loss this season coming to Oregon, 37-34, back in Week 2.
No. 4 seed Arizona State*^ (11-2): Thirty-four-year-old coach Kenny Dillingham’s squad went 11-1 when starting quarterback Sam Leavitt finished games, and ASU picked up four ranked wins, including a dominant 45-19 victory over Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship Game. The Sun Devils won 11 games for the first time since 1996 and will enter their first playoff.
No. 5 seed Texas~ (11-2): The SEC runner-up will seek its first national championship since 2005 despite losing to Georgia twice this season. The Longhorns are back in the playoff for the second straight year seeking their first victory in the event.
No. 6 seed Penn State~ (11-2): It was relatively easy work for the Nittany Lions outside of their two toughest opponents, Ohio State and Oregon; they lost each game by a touchdown but took the Ducks to the wire Saturday night. Penn State will play in its first playoff after believing it was snubbed from the 2016-17 field.
No. 7 seed Notre Dame~ (11-1): Making their third CFP appearance, the Fighting Irish are back in the field for the first time since 2020-21. Notre Dame is seeking its first national title since 1988 and will get its chance despite having the worst loss in the 12-team field (vs. Northern Illinois).
No. 8 seed Ohio State~ (10-2): Looking poised to overcome a regular-season loss and get a second shot at the Ducks, it was instead the Buckeyes sitting home on conference championship Saturday following a loss to rival Michigan in their regular-season finale. Ohio State is making its sixth CFP appearance seeking it first win since the inaugural four-team field in 2014-15.
No. 9 seed Tennessee (10-2): Making their playoff debut, the Volunteers’ loss to the Bulldogs was excusable, but a defeat at Arkansas early in the season stands as perhaps the second-worst in the field. Tennessee was an easy inclusion as a two-loss SEC team, but it will need to prove itself if it hopes to reach the Promised Land for the first time since 1998.
No. 10 seed Indiana (11-1): The underdog story of the year, the Hoosiers went from 3-9 last season to 11-1 with a playoff bid in Year 1 under Curt Cignetti. Whether Indiana’s blistering offense can run through the CFP field remains to be seen, but it dominated most opponents other than the one ranked team it faced, Ohio State, a game in which it fell 38-15 on the road. IU is competing for its first national title.
No. 11 seed SMU (10-2): The most controversial selection in the field, the Mustangs’ quality of overall play won out. SMU did have ranked wins over Louisville and Pittsburgh, but losses to BYU and Clemson (in the ACC Championship Game) were deemed quality enough to give the Mustangs a shot at the title. In their first year in the ACC, SMU has a chance to win its first national championship since 1982.
No. 12 seed Clemson* (10-3): In by the skin of their teeth, Dabo Swinney’s bunch toppled SMU in the ACC title game on Saturday to clinch an automatic bid as the only three-loss team in the field. The Tigers have a CFP pedigree, of course, making six straight appearances with title national title wins in 2016 and 2018. Clemson earned a bid to the playoff for the first time since 2020.
The 2024-25 College Football Playoff field may be set, but these 12 teams are not the only ones that matter entering postseason. Check out CBS Sports’ live bowl games announcements coverage as well as the entire 2024-25 bowl schedule.
