The 12-team College Football Playoff field and the First Round Games are upon us, starting on Dec. 19. While No. 2 Ohio State is the favorite, and each of the four teams with first round byes compose the four biggest favorites, each of the dozen teams has a legitimate chance of winning the national championship.
Here is what each of the 12 teams in the 2025 CFP field can rely on to propel them to winning a national title.
Indiana Hoosiers
Being ranked No. 1 certainly has its perks, as four of the last six teams to be ranked first in the CFP have gone on to win the championship. Apart from history, Indiana (13-0) is the only undefeated FBS team left standing, and it’s the only team with a Heisman winner in QB Fernando Mendoza. The Hoosiers are coming off a victory over the CFP favorite and previously unbeaten Ohio State Buckeyes. So, while other programs believe they can beat anyone, IU knows it can beat anyone in the 2025-26 College Football Playoff field.
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Buckeyes are the reigning CFP champs, having prevailed from an 8-seed last year. Their path would be much easier this season, and no team in this era of college football can boast the type of defense that OSU has. It has allowed 8.2 points per game this season, which is tied for the fewest of any team
over the last 36 years (2011 Alabama). That Tide team won the then-BCS Championship that season, as the 2025 Ohio State Buckeyes have allowed more than one touchdown in just two games this season ... Oh, and they also happen to have a Heisman finalist QB in Julian Sayin, as well as WR Jeremiah Smith, who could very well be the best player in the nation.
Georgia Bulldogs
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has more national championships (two) than all other 2025 CFP head coaches combined (one). Smart knows that winning a third would involve the Bulldogs potentially winning games in New Orleans (Sugar Bowl), Phoenix (Fiesta Bowl), and Miami (National Title Game), and that no team has performed better in neutral-site locations this season. UGA is 3-0 in such games, which is the most wins in FBS this year, and it’s allowed just 12 ppg in those contests. The Dawgs aren’t all defense though, as on the year, their
79.2% redzone touchdown rate is the second-best in FBS.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Perhaps no team enters the College Football Playoff hotter than the Red Raiders. They’re riding a six-game win streak, with each victory coming by 20-plus points. They also excel in the area that most correlates with winning and losing in any level of football, and that’s in regard to the turnover margin.
Texas Tech leads the nation in takeaways (31), is tied with Indiana for the best turnover margin in FBS (plus-17), and TTU’s plus-97 points off turnover margin is also the best in all of college football.
Oregon Ducks
Famed NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. lists Oregon QB Dante Moore as his No. 1 overall player for next year’s draft. Thus, the Ducks have a pretty talented quarterback, to say the least. However, this isn’t the typical all-offense, average-defense Oregon team of years past, as Dan Lanning has one of the stingiest units on that side of the ball. Oregon ranks in the top eight of college football in points allowed, yards allowed, passing defense, and yards per play.
Ole Miss Rebels
More so than any other CFP team, the Rebels have the extra incentive of proving that their success isn’t entirely due to their now-former head coach in Lane Kiffin. The team’s defensive coordinator, Pete Golding, has been promoted to head coach, making him the first coach ever to make his FBS coaching debut in a CFP or BCS Title Game. That takes pressure off Golding, and in turn, should take pressure off the entire Ole Miss team. As for on the field, RB Kewan Lacy didn’t accompany Kiffin to LSU, meaning the SEC leader with 20 rushing touchdowns—which also ranks second in the nation—will be a handful for opponents to deal with.
Texas A&M Aggies
While only the CFP First Round is contested on campus sites, A&M could be the only team in the bracket to get two de facto home games. It will host Miami in the first round, and if the Aggies win, then it will face Ohio State at the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, which is less than 200 miles from A&M’s campus. Besides that location advantage, Texas A&M has standout playmakers on both sides of the ball. QB Marcel Reed
tops the SEC with 14 yards per completion, displaying the team’s big-play ability, while DE Cashius Howell leads college football’s best conference with 11.5 sacks.
Oklahoma Sooners
For literally decades, Oklahoma football was known for its offense, but HC Brent Venables has brought a defensive intensity to the program. In his four years at OU, the Sooners have gone from 99
th to 49
th to 29
th to 7
th in scoring defense, as Oklahoma tops the SEC in points allowed per game. The offense, by the way, isn’t too shabby either, as QB John Mateer is getting healthier as he gets further removed from in-season hand surgery. That’s evident by him rushing for 47.5 yards over the last four OU games, which were victories over Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, and LSU.
Alabama Crimson Tide
The most successful program in College Football Playoff history, Bama has the most appearances (nine), title game appearances (six), and championships (three). With wins over four top-16 AP ranked teams this season, Alabama can play with anyone in the field. As usual, defense is the Tide’s calling card, ranking 12
th, nationally, in both points allowed per game and yards allowed per game. Defensive back Bray Hubbard has game-changing ability as his four interceptions
lead the SEC, while his three forced fumbles are third-most in the conference.
Miami Hurricanes
With the CFP National Championship Game taking place in Miami, the Hurricanes have a little extra motivation to make it to that round. They also have the proven ability to go toe-to-toe, and prevail, over the best of teams as the Canes have won all four of their games in 2025 versus ranked opponents. QB Carson Beck already has a pair of national championship rings, as a backup with Georgia, and the sixth-year player
led the ACC in both completion percentage (74.7) and passing rating (165.8) this season.
Tulane Green Wave
The Green Wave have two things they can hang their hats on entering the CFP as huge underdogs. One is their QB in BYU transfer, Jake Retzlaff, who is as good of a dual-threat quarterback as there is in football. He’s one of
four players in the country with 14-plus passing touchdowns and 14-plus rushing touchdowns. Tulane also is superb in a part of football which often gets overlooked, and that’s the kicking game. Patrick Durkin went 24 of 27 on FG attempts,
as he ranks third nationally in made FGs and 13
th in FG percentage.
James Madison Dukes
Winners of 11 straight—which is the second-longest streak to Indiana—JMU has balance on both sides of the ball. It is
one of four teams to rank in the top 10 in both points per game and points allowed per game, along with Indiana, Texas Tech, and Oregon. That’s the type of company that James Madison keeps as it can make a team one-dimensional, as the Dukes allow the second-fewest rushing yards per game (76.2) in college football. JMU would have four road/neutral-site contests in order to hoist the CFP National Championship Trophy. But the team is undefeated over its last five away from home, with a 23.6-point average margin of victory.
