The 12-team College Football Playoff is quickly becoming a college football betting staple for futures wagering, in its second season under this format.
Which teams will back up their recruiting rankings and preseason hype? And will anybody make a Cinderella run the way Indiana and Arizona State did last year in the inaugural 12-team Playoff? Here we go with our updated projection of the CFP field for the 2025 season after Week 6.
Projected College Football Playoff Field For 2025
Seed, Team | Conference | 2025 (Overall, Conference) |
| Big Ten | 5-0 (2-0) |
| ACC | 5-0 (1-0) |
| Big Ten | 5-0 (2-0) |
| SEC | 5-0 (3-0) |
| SEC | 5-0 (2-0) |
| SEC | 4-1 (2-1) |
| SEC | 5-0 (1-0) |
| Big 12 | 5-0 (2-0) |
| SEC | 4-1 (2-0) |
| Big Ten | 5-0 (2-0) |
| ACC | 5-0 (2-0) |
| American | 4-1 (0-0) |
1. Ohio State
2. Miami
3. Oregon
4. Mississippi
5. Texas A&M
6. Georgia
7. Oklahoma
8. Texas Tech
9. Alabama
11. Georgia Tech
12. 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 all season.
Top CFP Contenders
Not a lot changed at the top of our projections, with one major exception.
Oh, 
Penn State. What was that?
The Nittany Lions, coming off of a tough overtime loss at home to Oregon the week before, played its way out of any CFP consideration with Saturday's inexplicable loss at UCLA. The Bruins entered the game 0-4 and had already fired head coach DeShaun Foster. Penn State has no chance at the Playoff now unless James Franklin and company pull off an upset Nov. 1 at Ohio State, then another the following week at home against Indiana.
Which led us to think: Maybe 
Indiana can win in Happy Valley and cash CFB futures wagers for anyone backing IU as a Playoff team.
We dismissed the Hoosiers for a couple of weeks as a CFP contender because of the schedule behind them (no Power 4 nonconference foes) and the scheduled ahead (with Big Ten games at Oregon and at Penn State). But with PSU out of the picture, the Hoosiers can lose this weekend at Oregon and still make the CFP field, provided they don't stumble against anyone else.
Folks using the BetMGM bonus code can get Indiana and 7.5 points for Saturday's game in Eugene (3:30 p.m. Eastern, CBS) against the unbeaten Ducks.
We're also starting to think that Georgia Tech might be CFP material. The Yellow Jackets don't play any teams currently ranked in the Associated Press poll until the finale against Georgia – they already beat Clemson, and Tech avoids Miami and Florida State in the regular season. The CFP committee showed last year that it values reaching the conference championship game, so if the Jackets manage that in the ACC, they can afford a potential loss out of conference to the Dawgs.
College Football Playoff Bubble Watch
Team, Conference | Odds | 2025 (Overall, Conference) |
| +175 | 4-1 (1-1) |
| +240 | 4-1 (1-1) |
| +200 | 5-0 (1-0) |
| +235 | 4-1 (2-0) |
| +700 | 5-0 (2-0) |
LSU, SEC
Tennessee, SEC
Missouri, SEC
Michigan, Big TenThe CFP odds above are available for customers using the DraftKings promo code.
The race to be the next SEC team to get into the CFP picture continues to be tight. LSU and Tennessee each have one conference loss but, this being the SEC, they have plenty of chances to get back in contention with a big victory. And Missouri is undefeated (perhaps the quietest 5-0 team in America) with a chance to make a lot of noise on if the Tigers defeat visiting Alabama.
Another 5-0 Power 4 team flying under the radar is 
BYU.
With Iowa State's college football odds upset loss at Cincinnati on Saturday, the Big 12 race changed complexion again. BYU and Texas Tech are both 5-0 overall and 2-0 in league play. The Cougars play three of their next four games on the road, including Saturday at Arizona, then Oct. 25 at ISU and Nov. 8 at Texas Tech. If BYU can even split those latter two, they will be in the thick of the conference title race and would merit CFP consideration.
Michigan is also on Bubble Watch. The loss on Sept. 6 at Oklahoma doesn't look so bad in retrospect and the Wolverines – who don't play Oregon, Indiana or Penn State – do not face another currently ranked team until you know who visits Ann Arbor on Nov. 29 for the regular-season finale.
At ESPN Bet, Michigan is the fourth choice to win the Big Ten title at +850 odds, behind Ohio State (+125), Oregon (+175) and Indiana (+700).
College Football Playoff 2025 Q&A
Q1: Who is projected as the No. 1 seed in the 2025 College Football Playoff?
A: Ohio State currently holds the top seed in our projected 2025 College Football Playoff field with a 5-0 record (2-0 in Big Ten play). The Buckeyes' strong start puts them ahead of Miami, Oregon and Ole Miss in the projected playoff field.
Q2: Which SEC teams are in the 2025 College Football Playoff picture?
A: Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Georgia, Oklahoma and Alabama all appear in the Top 10, with Tennessee and LSU and Missouri 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: LSU (+175 odds to make the CFP at DraftKings), Tennessee (+240). Missouri (+200), Michigan (+235) and BYU (+700) are considered bubble teams. Each has had a strong start, but upcoming conference games will determine whether they can secure a playoff spot.
