B/R's 2025 College Football Winners and Losers from Conference Championship Weekend

With championship weekend in the books, the final pieces of the resume puzzle are in place for the selection committee to choose their 12-team field for the College Football Playoff on Sunday.

Indiana, Georgia and Texas Tech all officially punched their ticket by winning their conference championship games, while Ohio State, Oregon, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Oklahoma are all expected to be locks for a spot as well.

That potentially leaves Alabama, Notre Dame and Miami vying for two spots, with Tulane filling one of the remaining automatic bids for a conference champion, and the committee left to choose between an 8-5 Duke team as the ACC champion or a 12-1 James Madison as a second Group of Five representative.

Ahead we've highlighted the biggest winners and losers of the weekend, with each game's impact on the playoff field the biggest talking point of championship weekend.

Winner: Tulane's College Football Playoff Outlook

Michael DeMocker/Getty Images

Here is a quick snapshot of where the Group of Five teams have fallen in the College Football Playoff rankings since they were first released in Week 10:

Week 10: None
Week 11: (24) South Florida
Week 12: (24) Tulane
Week 13: (24) Tulane
Week 14: (20) Tulane, (24) North Texas, (25) James Madison

Given that Tulane has been slotted as the top team in the Group of Five picture three weeks running, their victory over North Texas in the AAC championship game on Friday night should make them a shoo-in for a spot in the College Football Playoff field.

The Green Wave offense piled up 199 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while the defense picked off North Texas star quarterback Drew Mestemaker three times and forced five total turnovers in a 34-21 victory.

Tulane's only loss in conference play came against UTSA in a game where quarterback Jake Retzlaff was banged up, while their other defeat was a lopsided 45-10 loss to Ole Miss where they allowed 548 total yards and looked overmatched.

Are they better prepared to face a major conference opponent now than they were back in Week 4?

Loser: Definitely North Texas, Maybe James Madison

Brien Aho/Getty Images

Alonza Barnett III (James Madison)

A head-to-head loss to Tulane in the AAC championship game is the end of the road for North Texas in its hunt for a playoff berth.

The Mean Green was 11-1 entering Friday night's game, and had just made its first appearance in the College Football Playoff rankings at No. 24. However, Tulane was already ranked ahead of them, leaving North Texas out of the playoff conversation.

Things are less cut and dry for James Madison.

The Dukes improved to 12-1 with a 31-14 victory over Troy in the Sun Belt championship game, and they also appeared in the latest CFP rankings in the No. 25 spot.

Will the selection committee give the fifth conference champion automatic bid spot to a Duke Blue Devils team that finished 8-5 and was nowhere to be found in the latest playoff rankings?

Notre Dame vs. Miami has been the biggest debate facing the playoff picture for weeks, but Duke vs. James Madison now becomes an equally compelling decision for the committee to make.

Loser: The Big 12's Chances for a Second Playoff Team

Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

Disappointing seasons from Arizona State (No. 11 in preseason AP poll), Kansas State (No. 20 in preseason AP poll) and Iowa State (No. 21 in preseason AP poll) meant chaos in the Big 12 early in the season, before Texas Tech ultimately separated itself from the pack.

The Red Raiders clinched not only a trip to the College Football Playoffs, but also almost certainly locked in a first-round bye with a 34-7 win over BYU in the conference championship game.

It was the second loss of the season for the Cougars, with the first also coming against Texas Tech in Week 11. That will likely drop BYU below idle Miami and down to at least No. 12 in the playoff rankings, which puts them on the wrong side of the cut line once the fourth- and fifth-highest ranked conference champions who will receive automatic bids are accounted for further down in the rankings.

Texas Tech is a bona fide title contender thanks to an elite defense that has surrendered just 43 total points over the last six games, but they will need to carry the torch for what is almost assuredly a one-bid Big 12 field.

Winner: December Georgia

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The SEC championship game was a rematch of the Week 5 showdown in Athens when Alabama reestablished itself as a top-tier team following an early loss with a 24-21 victory over Georgia.

This time around, the Bulldogs carried the day.

Gunner Stockton completed 20-of-26 pass attempts with three touchdowns, but the story of the game was the fact that they also outgained the Crimson Tide by a staggering 141-(-3) on the ground.

It was a clear indication that this Georgia team has come a long way from that September loss, with the defense settling in as one of the best units in the nation, while Stockton grew into more than a game manager.

Chances are, both teams will still make the 12-team playoff field, but they are trending in a very different direction now than they were the first time these two heavyweights faced off earlier this year.

Loser: An ACC-Free Playoff Field?

David Jensen/Getty Images

The best team in the ACC watched the conference championship game from home.

The Miami Hurricanes were No. 12 in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings, but their 6-2 record in conference play put them behind Virginia (7-1), and the tie-breaker went to Duke among a group of five teams that finished with identical 6-2 conference records.

The Cavaliers far exceeded expectations during the regular season with a 10-2 record, and they were No. 17 in the playoff rankings, putting them comfortably in position to be the fourth-highest ranked conference champion. All they needed to do was take care of a Blue Devils team that was 7-5 entering play on Saturday night.

They fought back from a 20-10 deficit with 5:02 remaining in the fourth quarter to force overtime, but couldn't keep the Blue Devils out of the end zone on the opening drive of the extra period, and then saw their playoff hopes vanish when Chandler Morris was picked off to end the game.

Now the playoff committee faces an extremely difficult decision.

Is an 8-5 Duke team that won the ACC championship more deserving of being the fifth-highest ranked champ ahead of a 12-1 James Madison team that was No. 25 in last week's rankings and took care of business in the Sun Belt championship game?

There is a very real chance we could see zero ACC teams in the 12-team playoff.

Winner: Indiana, College Football's New No. 1 Team

Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images

The knock on Indiana last year was an easy schedule and a lackluster performance in their only game against a ranked opponent when they fell 38-13 to Ohio State, and those criticisms proved valid when they fell to Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

A road win over Oregon back in Week 7 already gave the Hoosiers a better resume than they had a year ago heading into the Big Ten championship game, and a 13-10 victory over Ohio State should make them the No. 1 seed when the playoff field is announced.

Heisman Trophy favorite Fernando Mendoza threw for 222 yards and a touchdown, but the real story was the Indiana defense, which limited Ohio State to 4-of-11 on third down conversions while allowing just four trips to the red zone which resulted in a touchdown, field goal, missed field goal and turnover on downs.

The Hoosiers defense also had five sacks and an interception against fellow Heisman candidate Julian Sayin, and they limited the Buckeyes to 58 rushing yards on 26 carries.

Mendoza has grabbed the headlines, but it's an elite defense that makes Indiana a serious national championship contender, and they should be college football's No. 1 team heading into the postseason.