College Football Playoff Bracket Unveiled
The 12-team bracket for the College Football Playoff has been announced, but it’s not without its critics. This past weekend’s conference championship games produced quite a shake-up, particularly with Virginia’s surprising loss to Duke, which sidelined the ACC from the title race. On the other hand, Alabama found itself in trouble after a third season loss, facing a tough defeat against Georgia in the SEC Championship.
As anticipated, Indiana, Georgia, Ohio State, and Texas Tech claimed the top seeds in the playoff. Meanwhile, Group of Five standouts Tulane and James Madison made it into the bracket by overcoming power conference rivals with multiple losses. It’s likely that fans in Indiana and the Big 12 are feeling frustrated right now, but this is just part of the chaotic landscape of college football, which almost resembles the unpredictability of March Madness.
Here are four notable oversights from the 2025-2026 CFP bracket:
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
The decision to include Alabama, which has three losses, over Notre Dame, is bound to draw criticism in the coming days. The Irish managed to finish the season with ten straight wins but were eliminated after starting with two losses. Their season opener saw them narrowly lose to Miami. Still, the committee made the right choice opting for the Hurricanes. After a heartbreaking one-point loss to Texas A&M, Notre Dame’s undefeated run in the latter part of the season couldn’t save them. It’s hard to believe they were the first team cut from the bracket.
BYU entered its Big 12 Championship game against Texas Tech with playoff hopes. However, after a significant defeat, the Cougars found themselves out of contention. Their sole loss this season was to Texas Tech, which was quite lopsided at 63-14. In slightly brighter news, the basketball program is thriving with AJ Divansa at the helm. Fans might want to look forward to March Madness.
Interestingly, the starting quarterback, Diego Pavia, even sought help from Donald Trump in a bid to boost his team’s playoff chances. Yet, despite his efforts, the Commodores stumbled with two losses, which ultimately left them out of the playoff race. Their defeats came at the hands of Alabama and Texas—both of which have had underwhelming seasons. Vanderbilt’s triumph over a top-10 LSU team felt significant initially, but the Tigers’ late-season struggles dulled that victory’s shine. Wins against Tennessee and Missouri, both of which faced four losses this year, also didn’t hold as much weight. All things considered, it was a decent season for Vandy football, but not quite enough.
Utah performed well in the Big 12 this year, but it didn’t measure up to Texas Tech or BYU. The Utes, with a 10-2 record, lost to Texas Tech by 24 points and were edged out by BYU by just three in a late-season clash. They did secure some impressive wins over teams like Cincinnati and Arizona State, but their overall résumé fell short of playoff qualification.
