NCAA Football Playoff Outlook

Coach Smitty
Dec 4, 2025
3 min read

BENTON - Well, we’re here once again. Conference Championship weekend is officially here and we should have some good ball games to watch. As my Illinois Fighting Illini have soiled the bed yet again this season, you won’t have to worry about any bias from me. With that, let’s get right down to business and go over who plays who and what we predict to happen.

NCAA Football Playoff Predictions

Ohio State (13-0)
Indiana (12-1)
Texas Tech (12-1)
Alabama (11-2)
Oregon (11-1)
Georgia (11-2)
Ole Miss (11-1)
Texas A&M (11-1)
Oklahoma (10-2)
Notre Dame (10-2)
Virginia Cavaliers (11-2)
Tulane Green Wave (11-2)

Conference Championship Predictions (CFP Eligible)

Big 10: #1 Ohio State 31, #2 Indiana 24

SEC: #9 Alabama 28, #3 Georgia 23

Big 12: #4 Texas Tech 31, #11 BYU 17

AAC: #20 Tulane 30, #24 North Texas 21

ACC: #17 Virginia 31, Duke 24

Starting at the top, it is no secret what the game to watch is on Saturday. #1 Ohio State takes on #2 Indiana in what I expect to be a one possession game. I’ve got the Buckeyes coming out on top in this one, 31-24. With the Big 10 crown the Buckeyes should grab the #1 spot in the CFP. They’ll look to repeat as National Champions. With the loss being by one possession and given it being Indiana’s first loss of the season, they should retain the #2 spot in the playoffs. Now, this is where things get a little more interesting. #3 Georgia vs #9 Alabama should be an SEC Classic on Saturday. If you know how the last 10 matchups have gone between these teams, however, it’s definitely tough to be confident in saying the Bulldogs will get the job done. Alabama has won the last 9 out of 10 against Georgia and will look to make it 10 of 11. I’ve got the Tide rolling in this one, 28-23. That will shake things up in the final rankings as it could potentially bump Alabama all the way up to the #4 spot. Yes, I know they have two losses. But two wins over the Bulldogs and an SEC title would simply be too much to deny Alabama a Top 5 seeding. With the loss, Georgia slides down to #6. Coming in at #3 I’ve got the Red Raiders winning their game against BYU by two touchdowns, 31-17. Texas Tech would retain the #3 seed in the CFP and gain a first-round bye. Behind Alabama, I’ve got Oregon coming in at #5. At 11-1, they should get in with their only loss coming to #2 Indiana earlier in the year. At #6 I’ve got the Georgia Bulldogs. Two losses to the Tide would knock them back a couple of spots. Ole Miss comes in at #7 as they finished the regular season 11-1 with their lone loss coming to Georgia, 43-35. At #8 I’ve got the Texas A&M Aggies who finished 11-1 as well. Their only loss came at the hands of Texas who will likely just barely miss the CFP as they finished 9-3. Oklahoma will fill the #9 slot as they finished the regular season 10-2. The win over Alabama is a big one on the Sooners’ resume. Lost to Texas and Ole Miss earlier in the year. At #10 I’ve got the Notre Dame Fighting Irish who finished the regular season at 10-2. Their two losses were to Miami (FL) who was ranked #12 at the time and Texas A&M. Rounding out our last two spots will be the winners of the ACC and AAC Conference Championships. At #11 I’ve got Virginia beating Duke 31-24 and claiming the ACC crown. The Cavaliers would have a nightmare matchup in the first round as they would get Georgia right out of the gate. Rounding out the list at #12, the winner of Tulane and North Texas will wear the Cinderella slipper in the CFP. Though this one was a toss up, I have to give it to the Tulane Green Wave as they’ve simply dominated some of the conference opponents that North Texas did not. That rounds out our predicted CFP field.