A good lesson from the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff is that it\u2019s a long, long, long season. Last year, most of us wrote off Ohio State after it lost to Michigan, and we saw how that turned out. Plenty wrote off Clemson, before it won the ACC, and many even wrote off Notre Dame after the Irish lost to NIU.<\/p>\n
But folks aren\u2019t writing off Clemson now. I felt better about this in May when the Clemson bandwagon was still pretty empty, but now a lot of other folks are jumping on. They\u2019re buying in on Cade Klubnik (No. 1 in The Athletic\u2019s QB Tiers<\/a>), the receivers, defensive tackle Peter Woods (the No. 5 player on my 2025 Freaks List),<\/a> Tom Allen coming in to fix the defense, all of it. Heck, even Stew Mandel is starting to like Dabo\u2019s guys again<\/a>.<\/p>\n I was hedging my bets when predicting Clemson would face Texas again in the CFP, this time for the national title, earlier in the offseason. Now, I\u2019m ready to go all in. I think.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s my bracket for the 2025-26 College Football Playoff:<\/p>\n First round<\/p>\n In the No. 5 vs. No. 12 first-round game, I have Ohio State hosting Boise State. The Broncos will miss Ashton Jeanty, but they still have an experienced team led by QB Maddux Madsen to emerge as the top-ranked Group of 5 conference champion again. Sire Gaines and Dylan Riley are talented backs in their own right. Keep an eye on tiny Fresno State transfer Malik Sherrod, who is super elusive and created a lot of buzz there. Still, the Buckeyes are just too loaded for the Broncos<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game, I have No. 9 Miami visiting No. 8 Georgia, which means Carson Beck<\/a> gets to face his old team. Beck will flourish in offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson\u2019s system at Miami, and watch out for Canes RB Jordan Lyle. The Bulldogs still have a fierce defense, but I predict Beck handles it and the ACC gets a big win over an SEC powerhouse.<\/p>\n I have Arizona State edging out Oregon for the No. 11 slot, which faces No. 6 LSU. This is a good quarterback matchup between Garrett Nussmeier and Sam Leavitt. Expect LSU\u2019s defense to take a good step forward in coordinator Blake Baker\u2019s second season running the show in Baton Rouge, and I think LSU will slow down the Sun Devils.<\/p>\n In the No. 7 vs. No. 10 game, Big 12 champion Iowa State hosts Notre Dame. The Cyclones have a stout defense, but the Irish running attack led by Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price will take over the game in the second half, giving Marcus Freeman another CFP win.<\/p>\n Quarterfinals<\/p>\n Former Alabama signee Julian Sayin<\/a> \u2014 who left Tuscaloosa after Nick Saban retired \u2014 and Ohio State get No. 4 Alabama in the quarterfinals. The country\u2019s top two wideouts, Jeremiah Smith<\/a> and Ryan Williams, will also meet. Bama, which has lost its last two postseason games against Big Ten opponents, gets some revenge by knocking off the Buckeyes as Ty Simpson<\/a> continues an impressive first season as the Alabama starter.<\/p>\n There\u2019s an ACC title game rematch in the quarterfinals when Miami plays No. 1 Clemson. As good as the Canes\u2019 offensive line is, the Tigers\u2019 defensive line gives them some fits, and Klubnik gets the best of an improved Miami secondary.<\/p>\n