Grade the CFP bracket: Andy Staples' projected 12-team field includes true shockers

It is the heart of the offseason in college football, meaning we need to find new and creative ways to distract ourselves from another lousy Super Bowl matchup, among many other things... One college football-centric topic that came as quite a surprise was Andy Staples of On3 releasing his way-too-early College Football Playoff 12-team bracket for the 2025-26 college football season. It is a doozy!

While we are so far away from really giving much credence to anything that has to do with next year's playoff right now, I appreciate the thought Staples put into this and the exercise as a whole. The attempt may be a bit wonky, but good for him for sticking his neck out there. It is not the 12-team bracket I would have put forth, but I understand the logic to some degree in how he put it together.

Behold! Andy Staple's first way-too-early 12-team College Football Playoff bracket for next season!

1. Texas Longhorns (Projected SEC champion)
2. Oregon Ducks (Projected Big Ten champion)
3. Clemson Tigers (Projected ACC champion)
4. BYU Cougars (Projected Big 12 champion)
5. Ohio State Buckeyes (Projected Big Ten runner-up)
6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Projected national independent at-large)
7. Penn State Nittany Lions (Projected Big Ten at-large)
8. Georgia Bulldogs (Projected SEC runner-up)
9. Illinois Fighting Illini (Projected Big Ten at-large)
10. South Carolina Gamecocks (Projected SEC at-large)
11. Florida Gators (Projected SEC at-large)
12. Tulane Green Wave (Projected AAC/Group of Five champion)

Staples has Texas, Oregon, Clemson, BYU and Tulane being the five highest ranked conference champions with the first four getting first-round byes. After that he has in order Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Georgia, Illinois, South Carolina and Florida as his seven at-large teams. Of the 12 teams Staples has listed, seven made the College Football Playoff last season with five new entrants.

If you need a visual representation of what Staples' CFP bracket looks like, here is a tweet from On3.

Now that we have digested Staples' playoff bracket a bit, let's hand out a grade for what he did for us.

Andy Staples' College Football Playoff bracket is chock full of surprises

Of the 12 teams Staples has making the field, I agree with him on eight. Those would be the seven returning teams from last year in Texas, Oregon, Clemson, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Penn State and Georgia, as well as a new entrant South Carolina. For the record, my four other teams are Iowa State winning the Big 12, Miami (OH) winning the MAC, and Tennessee and Arizona State as two at-larges.

Overall, I think Staples having four Big Ten teams (Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State, Illinois) and four SEC teams (Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida) is largely justifiable. Keep in mind we only got seven last year with the ACC, Big 12 and Notre Dame cluster getting in four teams. This year, Staples only has that group of teams getting three in in Clemson, BYU and Notre Dame. That seems fair to me.

If I had a bone or two to pick with Staples, here are my three biggest gripes. One, Illinois getting in as the fourth Big Ten team is wild. I understand fully that Indiana occupied that spot a year ago. While the Illini may have a great team, they would be closer to the No. 11 seed if they did somehow get in. To me, they are by far and away the most outside-the-box inclusion Staples has on his 12-team bracket.

My second gripe is the idea that both South Carolina and Florida both get in as the No. 10 and No. 11 seeds over are more proven commodity in Tennessee. While I do not love Tennessee to win the playoff next year, I feel strongly they are closer to be a top-four lock in the SEC like Texas and Georgia are in most prognosticators' minds than they are to be at least fifth behind Florida and South Carolina.

And finally, I really do not like Tulane as the projected Group of Five champion. I do think very highly of Jon Sumrall as a head coach, but his Green Wave collapsed down the stretch due in large part to him potentially being a one-and-done head coach for the Greenies before returning. Besides, I prefer other teams such as Colorado State, James Madison, Miami (OH) and Navy far more than I do Tulane.

For the most part, I think you can at least justify what Staples put forth for us to dissect in the heart of the offseason. I know I greatly appreciate his effort. However, a playoff field that has Illinois in it and does not include Tennessee is a bit rich for me right now. I understand that he has strong ties to Florida and South Carolina personally, so take it with a grain of salt. Overall, I applaud the execution.

Staples has until Week 0 to fully round out who he believes will be the 12 teams making the playoff.

Grade: B for getting the bulk of it right, but not a B-plus for the sheer shock value of some