College Football Playoff Picture 2025-26: Updated Bracket After December 19 1st-Round

The Alabama Crimson Tide became the first team to advance out of the College Football Playoff first round on Friday night.

The Crimson Tide rallied from a 17-0 deficit to beat the Oklahoma Sooners 34-24 in Norman.

Alabama set up a quarterfinal clash with the top-seeded Indiana Hoosiers at the Rose Bowl on New Years' Day.

CFB Playoff Schedule

First Round

Saturday, December 20

No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M (Noon ET, ABC)

No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss (3:30 p.m. ET, TNT)

No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Oregon (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT)

Quarterfinals

Wednesday, December 31

Miami/Texas A&M winner vs. No. 2 Ohio State (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Thursday, January 1

James Madison/Oregon winner vs. No. 4 Texas Tech (Noon ET, ESPN)

No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 1 Indiana (4 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Tulane/Ole Miss winner vs. No. 3 Georgia (8 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Semifinals

Thursday, January 8 and Friday, January 9 (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

National Championship

Monday, January 19 (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Alabama worked its way back from 17 points down to beat Oklahoma by 10 points.

The Crimson Tide leveled the contest by halftime. They outscored the Sooners 17-7 in the second quarter.

Alabama started to pull away thanks to a 10-0 advantage in the third quarter. John Mateer and the Sooners offense didn't have an answer for the Alabama defense once the momentum shifted in favor of the Crimson Tide.

Kalen DeBoer's team became the first program to win a road game in the 12-team CFB Playoff format. A year ago, all four home games won in the first round.

Alabama faces a stiff test in the quarterfinal round against undefeated Indiana and Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza.

Indiana's defense allowed more than 10 points once in the last six games, including a 10-point concession in the Big Ten Championship Game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

While the matchup will be tough, Alabama might be one of the better suited teams to deal with Indiana.

The Crimson Tide own a 5-2 record against Top 25 opposition. The two losses came against teams they split the season series with, one of them being Oklahoma and the other is the third-seeded Georgia Bulldogs.

Alabama can't afford a slow start in Pasadena, like the one it had on Friday night, but you could make a case for the Crimson Tide to at least be competitive for four quarters with the Hoosiers.

Indiana's been tough to beat all season, and Mendoza proved in multiple spots that he can make clutch throws in the biggest moments.

The Hoosiers will be favored, but they shouldn't be automatically advanced into the CFB Playoff semifinals.