The race to the 2025 College Football Playoff — this time with a straight-seeding model — begins now in what could be the final year of the 12-team bracket. As conversations continue on a potential 14-, 16- or revised 12-team format moving forward, it’s time to reveal our preseason bowl projections and predicted playoff pairings ahead of the season.
There’s still five auto qualifiers for conference champions within the Power Four and the highest-ranked Group of Six champ. However, the top four seeds in the playoff with opening-round byes are no longer required to be a league champion as the selection committee moves to power ranking model of sorts.
We’ll update our bowl projections weekly throughout the campaign with an explainer on any changes to playoff pairings and any intel we’re hearing from bowl sources on preferred teams or matchups as the season matures. Most bowls have specific contractual tie-ins, but agreements and affiliations can change based on ESPN’s designations when the sorting is finalized at season’s end based on eligible teams.
Let’s look ahead at how things may shake out as the 2025 college football season rapidly approaches.
College Football Playoff
Quarterfinals
Jan. 1
Sugar Bowl
New Orleans
(1) Texas vs. (8/9) Winner
Jan. 1
Rose Bowl
Pasadena, Calif.
(2) Penn State vs. (7/10) Winner
Jan. 1
Orange Bowl
Miami
(3) Clemson vs. (6/11) Winner
Dec. 31
Cotton Bowl
Arlington, Tx.
(4) Ohio State vs. (5/12) Winner
First round
Dec. 19 or 20
Notre Dame Stadium
South Bend, Ind.
(5) Notre Dame vs. (12) LSU
(4) Ohio State
Dec. 19 or 20
Jones AT&T Stadium
Lubbock, Tx.
(8) Texas Tech vs. (9) Miami
(1) Texas
Dec. 19 or 20
Bryant-Denny Stadium
Tuscaloosa, Ala.
(6) Alabama vs. (11) Boise…
Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/bowl-projections-preseason-outlook-for-college-football-playoff-field-as-sec-leads-way-in-projected-bracket/
Author : Brad Crawford
Publish date : 2025-08-14 15:19:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
