Who’s in? Projecting the College Football Playoff field after the conference championship games

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Who’s in? Projecting the College Football Playoff field after the conference championship games

Indiana edged Ohio State in a classic Big Ten battle, Georgia and Texas Tech each made big statements, and Duke played spoiler on an entertaining conference championship Saturday in college football.

Now all that’s left is a brief wait to find out exactly how the 12-team College Football Playoff field will shake out.

After a busy Friday and Saturday of conference title games, the College Football Playoff selection committee now will rank the teams for a final time this season ahead of the playoff selection show at 9 a.m. PT Sunday on ESPN.

The locks for the playoff should be: Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia, Texas Tech, Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Tulane and James Madison.

Almost certainly eliminated are: BYU, Virginia, North Texas and Duke.

The question marks are: Alabama, Notre Dame and Miami.

How the committee assesses the three-loss Crimson Tide, who were ranked No. 9 heading into the weekend before falling 28-7 to Georgia, compared with two-loss Notre Dame and two-loss Miami will be the most intriguing aspect of Sunday’s bracket reveal.

Here’s a final projection of the 12-team playoff field, including seeding.

Projection: Who will make the College Football Playoff?

First-round byes (into the quarterfinals)

No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers*

No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes

No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs*

No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders*

First-round matchups (at campus of higher seed)

No. 12 James Madison Dukes* at No. 5 Oregon Ducks

No. 11 Tulane Green Wave* at No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels

No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide at No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies

No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners

* — Conference champion

First-round games will be played Dec. 19 and Dec. 20, with quarterfinal games following on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. Semifinal games are set for Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, and it all culminates with the College Football Playoff National Championship on Jan. 19 in Miami.

Conference championship scores

ACC championship: Duke 27, No. 17 Virginia 20 (OT)

Big Ten championship: No. 2 Indiana 13, No. 1 Ohio State 10

SEC championship: No. 3 Georgia 28, No. 9 Alabama 7

Big 12 championship: No. 4 Texas Tech 34, No. 11 BYU 7

MAC championship: Western Michigan 23, Miami (Ohio) 13

How will Saturday’s results affect the final CFP rankings?

As Saturday’s conference championship games unfolded, we projected how the results might affect the final CFP rankings and the playoff bracket. Here’s a recap:

Duke running back Nate Sheppard (20) runs for a touchdown in the first half of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game against Virginia, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)AP

Updated at 9 p.m. Saturday

Duke knocked off No. 17 Virginia 27-20 in overtime to play the role of spoiler. The Cavaliers were denied an automatic berth, and now the ACC might not have a playoff representative at all. The Blue Devils (8-5) aren’t ranked and won’t make the playoff, but Duke opened the door for the Dukes of James Madison, winners of the Sun Belt, to sneak into the field as the No. 12 seed.

Updated at 8:25 p.m. Saturday

No. 2 Indiana outlasted top-ranked Ohio State for a 13-10 victory in the Big Ten championship game. The close result most likely means the Hoosiers and Buckeyes will simply swap places in the final set of CFP rankings. Indiana will be No. 1 and Ohio State will have to settle for No. 2.

Updated at 4:26 p.m. PST Saturday

Georgia largely shut down Alabama, winning 28-7 in the SEC title game to exact some revenge after the Bulldogs lost to the Crimson Tide earlier this season. Georgia stays at No. 3 for the moment, but the Bulldogs could move up to No. 2 if the Big Ten title game proves a one-sided affair. Georgia’s win also keeps Texas Tech at No. 4.

Georgia running back Chauncey Bowens (33) runs against Alabama linebacker Justin Hill (8) during the first half of a Southeastern Conference championship NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)AP

As for Alabama, the Crimson Tide likely remain in the playoff, but that is not a certainty now that they have three losses. The selection committee probably will keep them at either No. 9 or No. 10, but a dip to No. 11 would not be shocking. In that case, both Notre Dame and Miami could leapfrog the Crimson Tide and move into playoff position. The margins are thin here, but for the moment we will project that three-loss Alabama falls one spot to No. 10, switching places with Notre Dame. That would keep Miami out of the playoff.

Updated at 12:23 p.m. Saturday

Texas Tech’s dominant 34-7 win against BYU locks up a top-four seed for the Red Raiders. For now they stay at No. 4, but they could move up if Georgia stumbles in the SEC title game. BYU is eliminated and will not make the playoff.

Texas Tech running back Cameron Dickey (8) gains yards after a catch as BYU cornerback Therrian Alexander (1) makes the stop in the first half of a Big 12 Conference championship NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)AP

Updated at 11:45 a.m. Saturday

Heading into Saturday, the 12-team field seemed fairly clear. No. 20 Tulane beat No. 24 North Texas 34-21 on Friday to claim the American Athletic Conference title and lock up a spot in the playoff.

Tulane safety Jack Tchienchou (1) celebrates an interception in the end zone against North Texas wide receiver Wyatt Young during the second half of the American Conference championship NCAA college football game in New Orleans, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Matthew Hinton)AP

And No. 25 James Madison beat Troy 31-14 to win the Sun Belt Conference championship. James Madison could sneak into the playoff as the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion if Duke beats No. 17 Virginia in the ACC title game. But if Virginia wins, James Madison would be knocked out.