CFP bracket projections: Could OU football face Notre Dame in first round?
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The Oklahoma Sooners are almost certainly one win away from clinching a College Football Playoff spot, their first since the tournament’s expansion to 12 teams.
The CFP’s weekly ranking on Nov. 18 had OU at No. 8, followed by Notre Dame at No. 9. If that scenario plays out, the Sooners will host the Fighting Irish in a first-round game either on Friday, Dec. 19 or Saturday, Dec. 20.
For OU to be in contention for this spot, the Sooners need to take down unranked LSU at home to close out the season. OU and Notre Dame share a 9-2 record, with OU most recently beating No. 22 Missouri and Notre Dame dominating Syracuse. The Irish need to defeat Stanford on the road Saturday.
Notre Dame is in the Atlantic Coast Conference for most of its sports, but competes as an independent for football.
Have OU and Notre Dame ever played each other before? How are playoff matchups decided? Here’s what to know going into the last week of the 2025 regular season.
Oklahoma football history vs. Notre Dame
Notre Dame owns a 9-2 record against OU all-time, including a 7-0 win at Owen Field in 1957 that ended the Sooners’ NCAA-record 47-game winning streak.
The teams’ most recent series started in 2012 in Norman, where the Irish got a 30-13 win over the Sooners. The following season, to complete a home-and-home series, OU traveled to South Bend, Indiana, and won 35-21.
How many national titles has Notre Dame football won?
Yes. Notre Dame is a historic program in the college football scenario.
The Fighting Irish claimed 11 consensus national championships, but haven’t won a title since 1988 in a perfect 12-0 season. The Sooners aren’t far behind, with seven national championships spanning from 1950 to 2000.
Oklahoma, Notre Dame history in the CFP
OU made the four-team playoff format four times, while Notre Dame had two appearances in the four-team format and once in the new 12-team format.
Neither team made it past the semifinals in the four-team format, but Notre Dame made it to last season’s title game, losing to Ohio State 34-23.
The 2018-19 College Football Playoff was the only time, so far, that the two teams made it to the tournament in the same season.
Projected College Football Playoff field, first round
- No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 Texas Tech
- No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oklahoma
- No. 11 Miami (FL) at No. 6 Ole Miss
- No. 10 Alabama at No. 7 Oregon
Top four seeds (bye weeks): No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Georgia
Who’s on the CFP committee?
There are 12 people in the College Football Playoff selection committee, including former Nevada head coach and athletic director Chris Ault, Nebraska AD Troy Dannen, Utah AD Mark Harlan, Middle Tennessee AD Chris Massaro, Miami (OH) AD David Sayler, Virginia AD Carla Williams and Arkansas AD Hunter Yuracheck.
Joining them are College Football Hall of Famers Mark Dantonio and Wesley Walls, tenured head coach Mike Riley, former NCAA governance and OU administrator Jeff Long and acclaimed sportswriter Ivan Maisel.
How many teams are selected?
In the new format, the selection committee will rank the top 25 teams, but only 12 will participate in the College Football Playoff.
What is the selection process?
The 12 participating teams will be the five highest-ranked conference champions and the following seven highest-ranked teams. The five highest-ranked champions almost certainly include the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, and ACC conference champions.
The remaining champion spot is given to the “Group of Six champion.” The Group of Six refers to the six conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision that are not considered Power Four, and include the American Atlantic Conference, Conference USA, Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, PAC-12 and Sun Belt.
What that means is that even if OU is ranked 12th, but a Group of Six champion is ranked lower, that champion will get in the playoff, and the Sooners would be the first out.
What is the schedule of games?
This year, the four games in the first round of the CFP will take place on Friday, Dec. 19 and Saturday, Dec. 20.
The winners of those games will face the top four seeds, who automatically qualify for the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals will happen on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
The semifinals will be on Thursday, Jan. 8 and Friday, Jan. 9, with the champion being crowned on Monday, Jan. 19.
When are college football bowl and playoff games announced?
Selection Day for the College Football Playoff will be Sunday, Dec. 7. There will be no re-seeding after the bracket is revealed. The committee releases a weekly bracket every Tuesday, showing how the playoff would look if the season ended this week. Bowl game announcements are usually on the same day.
Isa Almeida is a trending reporter for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Isa? She can be reached at ialmeida@oklahoman.com or on X/Twitter at @ialmeidasports. Support Isa’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: CFP bracket projections: Could OU football face Notre Dame in Round 1?
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