The 12-team College Football Playoff is quickly becoming a college football betting staple for futures wagering, in its second season under this format.
Rivalry Week is here as the regular season ends on Saturday. Things are so wild that no Power 4 team has even clinched a place in a conference championship game yet. Last week was full of mismatches, but that should not be the case this week.
Here is the updated projection of the CFP field for the 2025 season after Week 13, from RotoWire.com.
Projected College Football Playoff Field For 2025
Seed, Team | Conference | 2025 (Overall, Conference) |
1. | Big Ten | 11-0 (8-0) |
2. | SEC | 11-0 (7-0) |
3. | Big Ten | 11-0 (8-0) |
4. | SEC | 10-1 (7-1) |
5. | Big 12 | 10-1 (7-1) |
6. | SEC | 10-1 (6-1) |
7. | Big Ten | 10-1 (7-1) |
8. | SEC | 9-2 (5-2) |
9. | Independent | 9-2 |
10. | Big 12 | 10-1 (7-1) |
11. | ACC | 9-2 (6-1) |
12. | American | 9-2 (6-1) |
Ohio State
Texas A&M
Indiana
Georgia
Texas Tech
Mississippi
Oregon
Oklahoma
Notre Dame
BYU
TulaneOf note for customers at sports betting sites contemplating wagers on college football: The seeding format has changed from last year's inaugural run at a 12-team field.
For the 2025 College Football Playoff, the teams will be seeded in order of their final CFP ranking, with no first-round byes guaranteed for conference champions. The five highest-ranked conference champions – including one from the Group of Five leagues – will be guaranteed a spot in the 12-team field. Last year, the top four seeds (and first-round byes) were awarded to the four highest-ranked conference champions, which led to ninth-ranked Boise State receiving the No. 3 seed and Big 12 champion Arizona State, which was 12th in the final CFP rankings, getting the No. 4 seed.
Don't forget to find the best college football betting promos with us at RotoWire.com all season, including the CFP and other bowl games.
Top CFP Contenders
There was very little change at the top over the weekend, as most contenders enjoyed romps against overmatched opponents, either in conference or out of conference.
One notable difference is that, once again, the ACC gave us a dose of chaos.
The league that ESPN dubbed "Wheel of Destiny" many years ago kept spinning because visiting Pittsburgh knocked off then-No. 16 Georgia Tech, 42-28, on Saturday. That loss put the Yellow Jackets almost completely out of CFP consideration, but not entirely because Tech is one of six ACC teams with a mathematical chance to make the league title game on Dec. 6 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
CFB futures betting has rarely been this complicated with only one week to go in a regular season.
So 
Virginia is back in the ACC's Playoff spot on our list. The Cavaliers have the easiest path to the league title game: Just beat archrival Virginia Tech, which is 3-8 and fired coach Brent Pry weeks ago, and UVA is in.
The other team that suddenly controls its destiny is last year's ACC Cinderella bunch, 
SMU.
The Mustangs can clinch a spot in the league championship game for the second year in a row with a victory Saturday at California. The Golden Bears fired coach Justin Wilcox over the weekend after a loss to rival Stanford, even though Cal is bowl eligible at 6-5.
SMU is the current ACC championship favorite at Caesars Sportsbook, with +100 odds, followed by Virginia (+160).
Pitt, Miami, Duke and Georgia Tech also have a mathematical chance. But you might want to consult a math major at one of those schools to find out; we're not going to get into all the scenarios here. This race makes NFL tiebreaker permutations look simple by comparison.
College Football Playoff Bubble Watch
Team, Conference | Odds | 2025 (Overall, Conference) |
Alabama, SEC | -200 | 9-2 (6-1) |
Miami, ACC | +235 | 9-2 (5-2) |
Utah, Big 12 | +650 | 9-2 (6-2) |
Vanderbilt, SEC | +255 | 9-2 (5-2) |
Michigan, Big Ten | +550 | 9-2 (7-1) |
Playoff odds for CFB bubble teams are from DraftKings Sportsbook as of Nov. 24.
Since no top-12 teams lost over the weekend, none of last week's bubble teams broke into our projected CFP list except for Virginia. And that's only because the ACC has to have somebody in the field (we're not buying the scenario that a Group of 5 champion knocks the ACC out of the Playoff).
But, except for Vanderbilt, all the teams on our bubble watch list have a mathematical chance to make their conference title game.
Alabama has the easiest path. Like SMU and Virginia in the ACC, they face a team that is performing so far below expectations, it already fired its coach midseason. At FanDuel Sportsbook, the Crimson Tide are 5.5-point favorites to beat archrival Auburn on the road and make the SEC title game.
We know that the CFP committee values making a league title game, as it demonstrated last year in the debut of the 12-team CFP format. But in 2024, all the conference title game losers that got in the playoff (Penn State, SMU and Texas) did so with two losses. If Alabama makes the SEC title game but loses, would the Crimson Tide get in at 10-3? We don't see how, considering that Bama is No. 10 with the CFP committee, they won't move up when new rankings are released Tuesday, and a win over a 5-6 Auburn team won't help their strength of schedule at all.
The other team with a clear path, one that has been flying under the radar all season, is 
Michigan.
The Wolverines aim to upset No. 1 Ohio State (bet365 has the Buckeyes as a 10-point favorite for Saturday's game in Ann Arbor) then win the Big Ten championship game, probably over undefeated Indiana. Victories over two of the three remaining unbeaten teams in the season's final two weeks would vault the Wolverines into the CFP. It's a daunting task for a two-loss Michigan squad, but at least UM knows exactly what it must do.
Check out our college football odds as we head into the biggest, and the final, weekend of the regular season.
Q&A
Q: Who is projected as the No. 1 seed in the 2025 College Football Playoff?
A: Ohio State currently holds the top seed with an 11-0 record (8-0 in Big Ten play). The Buckeyes are ahead of Texas A&M, Indiana, Georgia and Texas Tech in the projected playoff field.
Q: Which SEC teams are in the 2025 College Football Playoff picture?
A: Texas A&M, Georgia, Ole Miss and Oklahoma appear in the Top 10, with Alabama and Vanderbilt on the bubble. The SEC's depth makes it the most competitive conference in the playoff race this year.
Q: What teams are on the 2025 College Football Playoff bubble?
A: Alabama (-200 odds to make the playoff at DraftKings), Miami (+235), Utah (+650), Vanderbilt (+255) and Michigan (+550) are considered bubble teams. Games in the final week of the regular season, plus conference title games in December, will determine whether they can secure a playoff spot.
