It is almost here! Can you taste it? College football will be back in our lives in a matter of days. Week 0 kicks off in earnest at 12:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 23 when Big 12 title bout contenders Iowa State and Kansas State duke it out overseas in Dublin. From there, we will have three more months to figure out who is going to be playing for the right to be crowned national champions. I cannot wait!
To keep my biases in check, I not only listed my projected 12-team College Football Playoff bracket, but I included six others to see what the real consensus is in all of this. I included The Athletic's consensus bracket, Kyle Bonagura's and Mark Schlabach's for ESPN, Joel Klatt's for FOX Sports, Josh Pate's from his College Football Show, Wynston Wilcox's for FanSided.com, as well as my own...
Check out this sweet table to get a lay of the land before we really begin with this amazing exercise!
Seed | The Athletic (Consensus) | Kyle Bonagura (ESPN) | Mark Schalbach (ESPN) | Joel Klatt (FOX Sports) | Josh Pate (Josh Pate's College Football Show) | Wynston Wilcox (FanSided.com) | John Buhler (FanSided.com) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Texas | Texas | Texas | Penn State | Penn State | Ohio State | Ohio State |
2 | Clemson | Penn State | Clemson | Texas | Alabama | Clemson | Notre Dame |
3 | Penn State | Ohio State | Penn State | Clemson | Texas | Penn State | Georgia |
4 | Ohio State | Clemson | Georgia | Ohio State | Oregon | Notre Dame | Texas |
5 | Georgia | Georgia | Ohio State | Georgia | Clemson | Alabama | Arizona State |
6 | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Alabama | Oregon | Notre Dame | Texas Tech | Clemson |
7 | LSU | Alabama | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | Ohio State | Texas | South Carolina |
8 | Oregon | Oregon | Oregon | Kansas State | Florida | Oregon | Penn State |
9 | Alabama | LSU | Miami | Alabama | Georgia | South Carolina | Ole Miss |
10 | Miami | Arizona State | LSU | LSU | Arizona State | LSU | SMU |
11 | Arizona State | Miami | Arizona State | Michigan | Nebraska | Texas A&M | Oregon |
12 | Boise State | Boise State | Boise State | Boise State | Boise State | Memphis | Boise State |
Of the seven playoff predictions, here is a breakdown of all 22 teams that made at least one bracket.
- 7: Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Texas
- 6: Alabama, Boise State, Georgia
- 5: Arizona State, LSU
- 4: N/A
- 3: Miami
- 2: South Carolina
- 1: Florida, Kansas State, Memphis, Michigan, Nebraska, Ole Miss, SMU, Texas Tech, Texas A&M
Clemson, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State and Texas were unanimous selections. Alabama, Boise State and Georgia made it on six of seven playoff fields. Arizona State and LSU made it onto five playoff fields. Thus, those 11 teams would be making the consensus playoff field. As for the 11 teams that got votes, Miami's three edges out South Carolina's two and the nine with only one.
What does this collection of data tells us the most about how we should feel about the playoff field?
National Consensus College Football Playoff Field Projection for 2025-26
I gave 12 points for a first-place projection, all the way down to one point for a 12th-place projection.
- Texas Longhorns (72 points)
- Penn State Nittany Lions (70 points)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (66 points)
- Clemson Tigers (58 points)
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (53 points)
- Georgia Bulldogs (47 points)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (40 points)
- Oregon Ducks (38 points)
- LSU Tigers (19 points)
- Arizona State Sun Devils (18 points)
- South Carolina Gamecocks (10 points)
- Miami Hurricanes (9 points)
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (7 points)
- Boise State Broncos (6 points)
- Florida Gators (5 points)
- Kansas State Wildcats (5 points)
- Ole Miss Rebels (4 points)
- SMU Mustangs (3 points)
- Michigan Wolverines (2 points)
- Nebraska Cornhuskers (2 points)
- Texas A&M Aggies (2 points)
- Memphis Tigers (1 point)
Based on these seven playoff projections, here with the consensus field could conceivably look like.
- Texas Longhorns (Consensus SEC champion)
- Penn State Nittany Lions (Consensus Big Ten champion)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (Consensus Big Ten runner-up)
- Clemson Tigers (Consensus ACC champion)
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Consensus national independent at-large)
- Georgia Bulldogs (Consensus SEC runner-up)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (Consensus SEC at-large)
- Oregon Ducks (Consensus Big Ten at-large)
- LSU Tigers (Consensus SEC at-large)
- Arizona State Sun Devils (Consensus Big 12 champion)
- South Carolina Gamecocks (Consensus SEC at-large)
- Boise State Broncos (Consensus Mountain West/Group of Five champion)
And for even more debate, these would be the consensus first four teams out of the playoff field.
- 13. Miami Hurricanes (Consensus ACC runner-up)
- 14. Texas Tech Red Raiders (Consensus Big 12 runner-up)
- 15. Florida Gators (SEC)
- 16. Kansas State Wildcats (Big 12)
Now that we have all of this information, how would this consensus playoff field potentially play out?
National Consensus College Football Playoff Projection First-Round/Byes
These would be your four teams on bye, as well as your first-round matchups with the consensus.
- No. 1 Texas Longhorns (BYE)
- No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions (BYE)
- No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes (BYE)
- No. 4 Clemson Tigers (BYE)
- No. 12 Boise State Broncos at No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
- No. 11 South Carolina Gamecocks at No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs
- No. 10 Arizona State Sun Devils at No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide
- No. 9 LSU Tigers at No. 8 Oregon Ducks
Notre Dame beats Boise State for the second time this year to advance. Georgia holds on to advance past South Carolina in Athens. Arizona State is no match for Alabama in Tuscaloosa. LSU gives Oregon all it can handle to pull of the slight upset to advance out of the No. 9 at No. 8 game to the national quarterfinals. A few upsets could be had in the first round, but not as many as you may think.
National Consensus College Football Playoff Projection Quarterfinals
Here are the national quarterfinal matchups, based on the projected consensus playoff field above.
- Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Texas Longhorns vs. No. 9 LSU Tigers
- Rose Bowl: No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions vs. No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide
- Orange Bowl: No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 6 Georgia Bulldogs
- Cotton Bowl: No. 4 Clemson Tigers vs. No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Against all odds, I am taking chalk in every single one of the games with the top-four seeds all advancing to the national semifinals. LSU may keep it interesting vs. Texas. Penn State being well-rested gets the Nittany Lions past Alabama. Georgia does not have the firepower to keep pace with Ohio State. Clemson asserts its dominance over Notre Dame to win the Cotton Bowl quite easily.
National Consensus College Football Playoff Projection Semifinals
Moving on, these would be the national semifinals, based on the national consensus projection field.
- Peach Bowl: No. 1: Texas Longhorns vs. No. 4 Clemson Tigers
- Fiesta Bowl: No. 2 Penn State Nittany Lions vs. No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes
We get two fantastic games in the national semifinals, ones that could go either way. I will take Texas to hold serve and end Clemson's season for a second consecutive year. However, I cannot in good faith put James Franklin in the driver's seat to beat Ohio State once again for what may be the third time of the season. We will be getting a rematch of the Cotton Bowl in the national championship!
National Consensus College Football Playoff Projection Championship
And so we meet again! The biggest game of Week 1 will become the biggest game of the season.
- College Football Playoff National Championship Game: No. 1 Texas Longhorns vs. No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes
I could go either way with this game, but I am going to do the unthinkable and say Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes not only win the rematch, but repeat as national champions. I trust Day slightly more than I do Steve Sarkisian in a critical moment. It will be a national championship game for the ages, but only one of these two perennial juggernauts is going to come out on top in the end here.
So for as great of a year we thought it would be for Clemson and Penn State, neither are winning it all.