When the College Football Playoff expanded to 12 teams, Bracketology fully entered the sport. With the CFP now using a straight-seeding model — giving the top four teams in the rankings first-round byes — the battle for at-large bids and the committee’s bubble decisions have started to reshape how we view the second half of the season.
Before the year, we each took our shot at predicting the first 12-team Playoff and the eventual national champion. Some of those picks couldn’t have aged worse — I was one of three who tabbed Penn State as the No. 1 overall seed and national champion.
Thankfully, our editors are giving us a midseason mulligan to re-pick our CFP bracket and national champion. We’ve also updated our Heisman Trophy and Coach of the Year selections.
And while it’s unlikely our new champion pick will have fired its coach by season’s end, college football in 2025 has proven that just about anything is possible when it comes to the sport’s elite programs.
College Football Playoff predictions
Top four seeds get first-round byes
Rest of field (No. 5-12)
2025 national champion
Ohio State: As other contenders stumble in the first half of the season, Ohio State’s almost made it look easy in cruising to 6-0. Yes, Texas and Washington pushed the Buckeyes a bit, but those games were never in any serious doubt. And a very good Illinois team couldn’t do anything against OSU until garbage time. The Buckeyes have a top five defense and a top 20 offense, and it really does feel like that offensive unit can hit another gear or two. Given the path for Ohio State to the playoff (no remaining Top 25 opponents on the schedule) and its talent, I think Ohio State is the obvious pick at the midway point to win the…
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