Ohio State’s Lorenzo Styles Jr. breaks up a pass intended for Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr. during the first half of the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game in Indianapolis, Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025. Michael Conroy/AP
Nobody watching the last two years would be surprised to see Indiana — yes, Indiana — top this year’s College Football Playoff field.
What was predictable but unavoidable was the uproar when the selection committee released the 12-team bracket Sunday. Notre Dame, riding a 10-game winning streak and fresh off a 29-point season finale win while idle on Selection Saturday, was passed over for two bubble spots that went to Alabama and Miami. The Fighting Irish dropped two spots in the rankings over the past two weeks despite their run.
Alabama did not move in the CFP rankings after a 28-7 loss to Georgia — a result that looked worse than the score — but the committee said it did not penalize the Tide, citing a practice of not docking teams for playing in their conference title game. Miami, which also did not play Saturday, moved ahead when it was placed next to BYU after BYU’s loss; the Hurricanes’ Week 1 victory over Notre Dame factored in. Committee chairman Hunter Yurachek said he directed the group to rewatch Miami’s Aug. 31 win over Notre Dame, and once Miami moved ahead of BYU, the side-by-side comparison everyone wanted was possible.
The committee’s final spot went to James Madison over Duke, leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference champion out of the bracket, though inclusion of the ACC in any form was not said to influence deliberations, Yurachek added.
The full field: No. 1 Indiana (first-round bye), No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Texas Tech (also with a bye), No. 5 Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Alabama, Miami, Tulane and James Madison.
First-round games are set for Dec. 19-20: James Madison at Oregon; Tulane at Mississippi; Miami at Texas A&M; Alabama at Oklahoma. The final is scheduled for Jan. 19 outside Miami.