The 2025-26 college football regular season is nearly done, and that means the College Football Playoff picture is coming more and more into focus. The Week 13 rankings from the selection committee are set to be released Tuesday night but the latest AP Top 25 has already given us an indication of which teams are positioned to be playing for a national championship come December.
The 12-team bracket doesn't guarantee the top 12 teams in the rankings a berth, but those sitting in and around spots 10-15 are generally considered on the bubble. They've got to play their best football over the final two weeks if they're not going to be participating in their respective conference championship games.
Let's take a look at some squads that have positioned themselves perfectly to control their own destiny ahead of the final regular season tilts.
4 CFP contenders peaking at just the right time
Notre Dame (8-2)
If there was ever a time for an independent powerhouse like Notre Dame to lose two consecutive games to top 20 opponents, it was the first two weeks of the regular season. The Fighting Irish have rattled off eight straight victories since and are now poised to finish the year 10-2 if all goes well.
Despite not having a conference championship game to play in, Notre Dame should have a strong enough resume to be included in the 12-team bracket anyways. Beating Syracuse and Stanford handily over the final two weeks will be just the momentum the program needs to likely earn a home game in the first round of the Playoff. Running back Jeremiyah Love is clearly the best at his position and deserves an invite to New York City as a Heisman Trophy finalist. He'll be carrying the Irish on his back into the field.
Oklahoma (8-2)
Despite losing two crucial midseason battles against Texas and Ole Miss, the Sooners have rebounded with two straight victories over Tennessee and Alabama in their last two contests. That's catapulted them from the fringes of the Playoff picture to right in the thick of the CFP race.
Their two final games of the year are against Missouri and LSU, which seemed like high-quality matchups just a few weeks ago but have fallen off considerably as injuries and poor play have taken their toll. Even so, those two should move the needle just enough for the Sooners to boost their resume via the eye test for the selection committee.
BYU (9-1)
The Big 12 has inherited the Pac 12's reputation for being the Wild West of college football. The conference championship race is still anybody's guess with four teams tied for third place. However, BYU appears to be the team with the most momentum, on a clear collision course for a rematch with first-place Texas Tech in Dallas.
The Cougars have scored 40 or more points in two of their last three games. The only exception was a loss to, wait for it, the Red Raiders. If BYU can handle business and reach the Big 12 title game at 11-1, it won't matter who wins the game if their opponent is Texas Tech. Both teams should be going to the Playoff easily.
James Madison (9-1)
The leader amongst the Group of Five candidates, James Madison has rattled off eight straight wins after falling to one-time CFP contender Louisville earlier in the year. They face Pac-12 opposition in Washington State on Saturday before closing out Sun Belt play against Coastal Carolina.
Winning those two games and clinching the conference title could have the potentially 12-1 Dukes slated as juicy road dogs (pun intended) in the first round of the Playoff. Could you imagine if a 12-seeded JMU was pitted against a 5-seeded Indiana in the first-ever Cignetti bowl? Sign me up for that.