JUMP TO:
The official College Football Playoff bracket is still days away, but Tuesday night’s rankings could serve as the answer to some of the biggest questions remaining.
Few questions are more pressing than the dynamic between Miami and Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish have recently been ranked ahead of the Hurricanes, who missed the ACC championship game by a tiebreaker, but Miami has a head-to-head win over Notre Dame and has made the case it should be in the field as an at-large.
With no more games for either team to play, Tuesday’s rankings should serve as the final determination in that debate.
Elsewhere, fans will be watching to see how far Texas A&M falls after suffering its first loss of the season. The Aggies are widely expected to fall out of a top-four seed, but will they drop below Oregon and Ole Miss?
BYU, Texas and Vanderbilt all won their final regular-season game, seemingly keeping the pressure on in their chase for playoff bids, but the lack of movement by teams ahead of them is likely to keep them out of the field, barring a surprise on Tuesday. The Cougars are the only ones from that trio who control their fate, as they can punch their ticket by knocking off Texas Tech in the Big 12 championship game.
The Sporting News is tracking the reveal of the latest College Football Playoff rankings and bracket ahead of championship week. Follow along below as the top 25 teams are announced.
STREAM: Watch latest CFP rankings reveal live with Fubo (free trial)
College Football Playoff rankings 2025
Who are the top 12 teams in CFP bracket poll?
This section will be updated as the rankings are revealed.
| Ranking | Team | Record |
| 1. | ||
| 2. | ||
| 3. | ||
| 4. | ||
| 5. | ||
| 6. | ||
| 7. | ||
| 8. | ||
| 9. | ||
| 10. | ||
| 11. | ||
| 12. |
First four teams out
| Ranking | Team | Record |
| 13. | ||
| 14. | ||
| 15. | ||
| 16. |
Rest of the top 25
| Ranking | Team | Record |
| 17. | ||
| 18. | ||
| 19. | ||
| 20. | ||
| 21. | ||
| 22. | ||
| 23. | ||
| 24. | ||
| 25. |
MORE: College football bowl projections
College Football Playoff bracket 2025
This section will be updated after the rankings are revealed.
College Football Playoff predictions
Here’s how TSN’s Bill Bender projected the 12-team College Football Playoff ahead of championship week.
| Seed | Team | Record |
| 1. | Ohio State | 12-0 |
| 2. | Georgia | 11-1 |
| 3. | Indiana | 12-0 |
| 4. | Texas Tech | 11-1 |
| 5. | Oregon | 11-1 |
| 6. | Texas A&M | 11-1 |
| 7. | Ole Miss | 11-1 |
| 8. | Oklahoma | 10-2 |
| 9. | Notre Dame | 10-2 |
| 10. | Alabama | 10-2 |
| 11. | Virginia | 10-2 |
| 12. | Tulane | 10-2 |
MORE: College football picks, predictions for conference championships
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
| Game | Date |
| First round | Dec. 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 Championship | Jan. 19 |
MORE: Why Lane Kiffin left Ole Miss for LSU
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.
| Date | Time (ET) | TV Channel | Live Stream |
| Tuesday, Dec. 2 | 7:00 p.m. | ESPN | Fubo |
| Sunday, Dec. 7 (Selection show) | 12:00 p.m. | ESPN | Fubo |
