College Football Analyst Predicts 12-Team Playoff Field In 2025-26
01/05/2025 10:58 AM
The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff field is down to four.
The College Football Playoff semifinals are set. No. 6 Penn State will take on No. 7 Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl on Thursday night. On Friday night, No. 5 Texas will take on No. 8 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. The winners of the two games will advance to the College Football Playoff national title game.
But who will make the College Football Playoff field in 2025-26? It's already time to start making projections.
Brad Crawford of 247Sports has made his way-too-early picks on Sunday morning.
Here's who Crawford has making the 12-team College Football Playoff in 2025-26:
- Ohio State
- Texas
- Clemson
- UNLV
- Oregon
- Notre Dame
- LSU
- Penn State
- Georgia
- Miami
- Michigan
- Kansas State
Crawford has Alabama, led by head coach Kalen DeBoer, missing the College Football Playoff for the second straight season. That surely would not fly in Tuscaloosa.
Still, Crawford is projecting two College Football Playoff semifinal teams from this season - Ohio State and Texas - to meet for the national title in 2026.
A rematch of this season's playoff Cotton Bowl for all the marbles next January in Miami? It's possible. Ohio State and Texas, we project, will both be top 5 teams when the onslaught of preseason ranking appear next summer. Day and Steve Sarkisian headline two programs who are ascending as annual frontrunners with the resources to pick and choose talent they want from the portal every cycle.
Quarterback play at both programs next season is paramount with Quinn Ewers and Will Howard expected to be playing in the NFL. Manning and former Alabama transfer Julian Sayin are the projected starters at both and there will be a wealth of playmakers around them to ensure success. Restructuring the offensive line is another key element in Texas and Ohio State being as good as advertised with both teams facing a ton of hype.
It's early, but it shouldn't be surprising to see Ohio State and Texas getting a lot of love heading into 2025-26.
Both teams should bring back truly loaded rosters following their College Football Playoff runs this year.
