Our CBS Sports experts have prognosticated how the 2024-25 College Football Playoff will play out
The 2024-25 College Football Playoff bracket is set. Now the only thing left is to play the games and decide a national champion. The action commences on Friday night when (7) Notre Dame hosts (10) Indiana in what will be the initial first-round game in the history of the event.
What most want to know, of course, is which team is most likely to win the national title. Will it be (1) Oregon that becomes the first 17-0 team in college football history? Might (6) Penn State rebound from its slim Big Ten Championship Game loss to pick up a string of top-tier wins that have been uncommon historically under coach James Franklin? Could (3) Boise State or (4) Arizona State break through as unexpected teams receiving first-round byes despite some terrific performances throughout the season? Or might we see (2) Georgia, the only recent national title winner in the entire field, run through its three games to claim another crown?
With 134 FBS teams now whittled down to 12, all that’s left to do is actually make picks. Our CBS Sports experts did exactly that below. We’ve spent months on end watching, analyzing and projecting games, and now, we’ve now filled out our brackets using all that accumulated knowledge in an attempt to help guide you through your own picks.
Think of these as cheat sheets, if you will, as you make your own predictions ahead of the first expanded College Football Playoff.
Dennis Dodd
A bit chalky from Dennis with Tennessee over Ohio State as the only real upset in the field. Penn State over Boise State is certainly a seed-level upset, but the Nittany Lions have been ranked higher than the Broncos all season. Dennis has Georgia winning its third national title in the last four years.
Tom Fornelli
Lots of belief in the Fighting Irish from Tom, who has Notre Dame taking down Indiana, Georgia and Penn State in succession to reach the CFP National Championship. Not as much belief in ND as someone else, though, as Tom has Oregon avoiding any Big Ten rematches on the way to the program’s first national title.
Chip Patterson
Dabo Swinney has clearly won Chip over. Picking No. 12 seed, three-loss Clemson to win two games would seem like the most dramatic projection any of our experts make given the Tigers are starting in the first round. Well … maybe not …
Richard Johnson
This would be quite a run for Notre Dame and coach Marcus Freeman if Richard is on point with the Fighting Irish winning their first national championship since 1988. It would include Notre Dame beating offensive powerhouse Indiana, knocking off the 2021-22 national champions in Georgia and taking down the nation’s only remaining undefeated team. Luck of the Irish, indeed.
Shehan Jeyarajah
The Ponies have legs for Shehan … just not as many as the Buckeyes. Will Ohio State go from losing at home against its greatest rival — as two-touchdown favorites — to winning four straight games (including getting revenge on Oregon) on its way to winning its first national title in a decade?
John Talty
John clearly got a peak at Dennis’ homework on this one, but there’s really no reason to doubt Oregon and Georgia given their conference title game performances. What will be curious is whether Carson Beck is able to play for the Bulldogs given he’ll have an extra week to rehabilitate given the bye into the quarterfinals. This is one of four brackets to pick Tennessee over Ohio State.
Brandon Marcello
Brandon projects a Big Ten Championship Game rematch in the CFP National Championship, which would certainly be something on which the conference could hang its hat. Will the SEC really only win two total games in the entire playoff field?
Brad Crawford
Well, at least someone believes in Texas. While the Longhorns technically had four ranked wins during the season, none of those teams are still in the top 25. Still, Brad believes Texas will win four straight games against top-16 teams — knocking off undefeated Oregon and a Georgia team that’s beaten UT twice already — on its way to the national title. OK, cool. Hook ’em.
