College Football Playoff Bracket Projections and Predictions after Week 14

Although the 2025 regular season is over, debates surrounding the College Football Playoff are only heating up.

Sharpen those arguments, folks, because we have eight days of screaming ahead.

Oregon held off Washington in Week 14, while both Oklahoma and Alabama survived four-quarter fights with LSU and Auburn, respectively. Texas, meanwhile, cranked up the noise with an upset of Texas A&M but received no help from Miami and Vanderbilt, who smacked Top 25 foes Pitt and Tennessee.

Because there was so little chaos, though, the bracket is largely unchanged. But that Duke-sized dilemma we mentioned last week? It might happen.

The projections for the CFP are based on the latest B/R Top 25, which both recent results have shaped and upcoming games will change.

Key Results in Week 14

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Isaiah Horton

Miami 38, Pitt 7
Duke 49, Wake Forest 32
Cal 38, SMU 35

Why those results in the ACC? That, specifically, is what Duke needed to happen in order to crash the ACC Championship Game. Somehow, some way, it did. Despite having zero wins of consequence, the 7-5 Blue Devils have a shot at sneaking into the CFP. They'll play Virginia, which beat Duke 34-17 a few weeks ago.

Indiana 56, Purdue 3
Ohio State 27, Michigan 9

Indiana took care of business on Friday night, destroying rival Purdue (as expected) to clinch a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game. Ohio State then shook a four-game losing streak to Michigan on Saturday, setting up a battle of unbeatens in Indianapolis with the No. 1 seed in the Playoff at stake.

Texas 27, Texas A&M 17
Alabama 27, Auburn 20

Georgia had wrapped up its SEC slate, so the Dawgs entered Week 14 needing a loss by Texas A&M or Alabama to reach the SEC Championship Game. Texas obliged right away, taking down A&M on Friday evening. Alabama squandered a 17-point lead in a trip to rival Auburn, but a late 4th-and-goal conversion and fumble recovery allowed the Tide to survive and advance to Atlanta.

B/R's Top 25 After Week 14

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Malik Benson

1. Ohio State
2. Indiana
3. Georgia
4. Texas Tech
5. Oregon
6. Texas A&M
7. Ole Miss
8. Oklahoma
9. BYU
10. Notre Dame
11. Alabama
12. Miami
13. Vanderbilt
14. Texas
15. Utah
16. Virginia
17. USC
18. North Texas
19. Michigan
20. James Madison
21. Tulane
22. Arizona
23. Houston
24. Tennessee
25. Navy

Post-Week 14 CFP Picture

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Behren Morton

Bracket Format

Automatic bids: The projected five highest-ranked conference champions.

Ohio State (No. 1, Big Ten)

Georgia (No. 3, SEC)

Texas Tech (No. 4, Big 12)

Virginia (No. 16, ACC)

North Texas (No. 18, American)

At-large bids: The projected next seven highest-ranked teams in the country.

Indiana

Oregon

Texas A&M

Ole Miss

Oklahoma

Notre Dame

Alabama

Rankings are largely based on latest B/R Top 25 but adjusted slightly for what I personally believe the CFP selection committee will do.

Processing the Kiffin Effect

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Lane Kiffin

I want to be very clear that I am not advocating for this outcome, believing it will happen or endeavoring to question Ole Miss' legitimacy.

Based on what we watched in 2025, there is no justifiable reason to leave out the Rebels. They finished 11-1 with a road win at Oklahoma, only losing on the road to Georgia. Ole Miss deserves a place in the CFP.

But.

Lane Kiffin has accepted the LSU job—something I certainly have thoughts about, but that's not our focus. Kiffin will not be coaching Ole Miss anymore, leaving newly promoted Pete Golding (the defensive coordinator) in charge.

My opinion on the aftermath involves two major points.

During the media portion of the CFP press conference last week, chairman Hunter Yurachek said in response to whether a team could be penalized if a head coach has departed: "It could be considered by the committee."

I don't necessarily disagree, but it's more a matter—again, to me—of whether Ole Miss players are still there. The players have earned an opportunity.

Now, this is not an apples-to-apples comparison. Two years ago, the committee snubbed 13-0 Florida State after a season-ending injury to quarterback Jordan Travis. Understandably, 14 starters and a total of 25 players skipped the Orange Bowl—and UGA dismantled FSU's second-string group 63-3.

In the wake of Kiffin's departure, though, a ton of coaches are following him to LSU. That doesn't mean nothing.

Again, I hope it does not harm Ole Miss' seeding. But the fate of the Rebels' postseason outlook lies in the hands of the ever-unpredictable committee.

Impact Games in Championship Week

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Fernando Mendoza

In short, six of them.

Relative to having absolutely zero doubt, the Big Ten Championship Game is the lone matchup in which both programs are stone-cold locks. Ohio State and Indiana will likely both receive first-round byes, for that matter, but a trip to the Rose Bowl and the No. 1 overall seed are on the line.

The safe answer is the SEC Championship Game includes two Playoff teams. Georgia is a lock, and Alabama is currently positioned to join UGA. But there's at least a chance that a little chaos knocks out the Crimson Tide.

That chaos is called BYU.

BYU landed as the "first team out" in the latest CFP Top 25, and Miami absolutely might leap the Cougars in the next release. But if BYU beats Texas Tech—a CFP lock—in the Big 12 Championship Game, any ranking manipulation will be rendered meaningless because of the automatic bid.

Which is a tidy segue to the final category, including the ACC, American and perhaps the Sun Belt.

Virginia holds a win-and-in path to represent the ACC, and the winner of North Texas' trip to Tulane will represent the Group of Five. But if Duke beats UVA, there's a legitimate shot for James Madison—currently 11-1 and set to host Troy for the Sun Belt crown—to rank higher than Duke in the final CFP ranking.