The College Football Playoff Preview
- Josh Barbara
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Uncertainty was ended, and history was made Sunday as the College Football Playoff selection committee unveiled a 12-team field that features the Indiana Hoosiers as the No. 1 overall seed and excludes an Atlantic Coast Conference champion for the first time in the tournament’s history.
The committee’s decision to bypass ACC champion Duke (8-5) in favor of two Group of Five champions—No. 11 Tulane and No. 12 James Madison—marks the first time a Power Four conference winner has failed to qualify for the bracket. The Blue Devils, who upset Virginia in Saturday’s ACC Championship Game, did not finish ranked high enough to secure one of the five automatic bids reserved for the highest-ranked conference champions.
Instead, the path was cleared for the undefeated Indiana Hoosiers (13-0), who cemented their top billing with a 13-10 victory over Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game. Under head coach Curt Cignetti and led by quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the Hoosiers will enjoy a first-round bye and a trip to Pasadena to play in the Rose Bowl.
The Top Four (Byes): The top four seeds receive a bye to the quarterfinals, scheduled for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
Indiana (13-0) – Big Ten Champion / Ohio State (12-1) – At-Large (Big Ten Runner-up) / Georgia (12-1) – SEC Champion / Texas Tech (12-1) – Big 12 Champion
First-Round Matchups: Games to be played Dec. 19-20 on the campus of the higher-seeded team.
No. 12 James Madison (11-2) at No. 5 Oregon (11-2)
The Dukes, champions of the Sun Belt, travel to Eugene to face the Ducks, who finished third in the Big Ten.
No. 11 Tulane (11-2) at No. 6 Ole Miss (10-2)
The American Athletic Conference champions face an SEC test in Oxford in a rematch of a game that Ole Miss won 45-10 on September 20th, 2025.
No. 10 Miami (10-3) at No. 7 Texas A&M (10-2)
Despite not being in the ACC title game, the Hurricanes secured an at-large bid due to their regular-season résumé, which is the same case for Texas A&M.
No. 9 Alabama (10-2) at No. 8 Oklahoma (10-2)
A marquee rematch between two traditional powers will take place in Norman this time after the Sooners beat the Crimson Tide 23-21 on November 15th, 2025.
The ‘Rule of 5’ Fallout
The exclusion of Duke is a direct result of the "5+7" format, which grants automatic bids to the five highest-ranked conference champions and at-large bids to the next seven highest-ranked teams.
Because Duke finished the season with five losses and a ranking well outside the top 15, they fell behind both Tulane (AAC) and James Madison (Sun Belt) in the committee’s final poll. This scenario creates a rare bracket with two representatives from the "Group of Five" conferences.
Notable Omissions
The final spots on the bracket came at the expense of Notre Dame (10-2). The Fighting Irish finished No. 11 in the rankings but were "bumped" from the field because, according to the selection committee principles, there needs to be five spots reserved for the highest-ranked conference champions. Since Notre Dame football does not belong to a conference and all the other at-large bids were taken, the final two spots were taken by Tulane and James Madison as the two highest-ranked remaining conference champions.
What’s Next
The first round kicks off Friday, Dec. 19. Winners will advance to the quarterfinals to face Indiana at the Rose Bowl, Ohio State at the Cotton Bowl, Georgia at the Sugar Bowl, and Texas Tech Orange Bowl. The National Championship is set for January 19, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
