CFP bracket: Who made 12-team College Football Playoff field?

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The full madness of the College Football Playoff can officially commence.

The full playoff field for the second 12-team bracket was announced by the CFP selection committee on Sunday, Dec. 7, putting an end to several weeks of prognostication and debate on which college football teams will compete for the national championship.

Indiana was named as the No. 1 overall seed in the bracket for the first time in program history following its stunning 13-10 upset over Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game. The other three teams to join the Hoosiers in the top four and get a first-round bye were No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas Tech.

CFP bracket: Live updates, start time, TV channel for Playoff rankings reveal

The committee handed the final two spots in the field to No. 9 Alabama and No. Miami, with the latter of the two creating quite the headline after the committee flipped them with Notre Dame because of the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Fighting Irish.

CFP first-round action will play out on Friday, Dec. 19 and Saturday, Dec. 20 on the campuses of seeds 5-8. Earning first-round home games this season are No. 5 Oregon, No. 6 Mississippi, No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 8 Oklahoma.

Here’s a look at how the finalized CFP bracket turned out, including a look at first-round matchups, the full 2025-26 CFP schedule and who was snubbed from the bracket:

College Football Playoff bracket 2025-26

Here’s a look at how the 12-team CFP looks after the official Dec. 7 release:

  1. Indiana (13-0) *
  2. Ohio State (12-1)
  3. Georgia (12-1) *
  4. Texas Tech (12-1) *
  5. Oregon (11-1)
  6. Ole Miss (11-1)
  7. Texas A&M (11-1)
  8. Oklahoma (10-2)
  9. Alabama (10-3)
  10. Miami (10-2)
  11. Tulane (12-1) *
  12. James Madison (12-1) *

* Denotes one of five highest-ranked conference champions

CFP bracket matchups

Here’s a breakdown of first-round and quarterfinal matchups for the 12-team CFP bracket:

College Football Playoff first round matchups

  • No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Oregon
  • No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss
  • No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M
  • No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma
  • Byes: No. 1 Indiana, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas Tech

College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchups

  • No. 4 Texas Tech vs. Winner of No. 5 Oregon/No. 12 James Madison
  • No. 1 Indiana vs. Winner of No. 8 Oklahoma/No. 9 Alabama
  • No. 3 Georgia vs. Winner of No. 6 Ole Miss/No. 11 Tulane
  • No. 2 Ohio State vs. Winner of No. 7 Texas A&M/No. 10 Miami

CFP rankings

Here’s what the initial top 25 looks like from the CFP bracket release:

Note: This section will be updated once the full top 25 is released

  1. Indiana (13-0) *
  2. Ohio State (12-1)
  3. Georgia (12-1)
  4. Texas Tech (12-1)
  5. Oregon (11-1)
  6. Ole Miss (11-1)
  7. Texas A&M (11-1)
  8. Oklahoma (10-2)
  9. Alabama (10-3)
  10. Miami (10-2)
  11. Notre Dame (10-2)
  12. BYU (11-2)
  13. TBD
  14. TBD
  15. TBD
  16. TBD
  17. TBD
  18. TBD
  19. TBD
  20. Tulane (11-2) *
  21. TBD
  22. TBD
  23. TBD
  24. James Madison (12-1)
  25. TBD

* Denotes one of top five highest-ranked conference champions

CFP snubs: Who was left out of College Football Playoff?

  • No. 11 Notre Dame
  • No. 12 BYU

The first two teams out of the 12-team CFP bracket were No. 11 Notre Dame and No. 12 BYU. This is a result of both Tulane and James Madison — teams ranked outside the top 12 of the final CFP rankings — making the field as the fourth-and fifth-highest ranked conference champions.

The Fighting Irish miss out on the 12-team CFP field after losing the head-to-head tiebreaker with Miami. The Cougars could have made the field if they had won the Big 12 championship game, but that loss

CFP schedule 2025-26

Here’s a full breakdown of the 2025-26 College Football Playoff bracket schedule:

CFP first-round (On campus sites)

  • Friday, Dec. 19
    • Game 1: 8 p.m. ET
  • Saturday, Dec. 20
    • Game 2: Noon ET
    • Game 3: 3:30 p.m. ET
    • Game 4: 7:30 p.m. ET

CFP quarterfinals

  • Wednesday, Dec. 31
    • Cotton Bowl (Game 5): 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Thursday, Jan. 1
    • Orange Bowl (Game 6): Noon ET
    • Rose Bowl (Game 7): 4 p.m. ET
    • Sugar Bowl (Game 8): 8 p.m. ET

CFP semifinals

  • Thursday, Jan. 8
    • Fiesta Bowl (Game 9): 7:30 p.m. ET
  • Friday, Jan. 9
    • Peach Bowl (Game 10): 7:30 p.m. ET

CFP championship game

  • Monday, Jan. 19 at Hard Rock Stadium (Game 11, Miami): 7:30 p.m. ET

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who’s in CFP bracket? Snubs, games, College Football Playoff schedule

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