The 12-Team CFP Field Is Set: Hoosiers Rule the World and the Irish Get Left At the Altar

If you had told me five years ago that the road to the CFP National Championship would run directly through Bloomington, Indiana, I would have asked you to respectfully hand over your car keys. I would have assumed you were hallucinating. Yet, here we are in 2025. The sky is blue, water is wet, and the Indiana Hoosiers are the undisputed kings of college football.

Selection Sunday has come and gone, leaving a trail of broken hearts, angry athletic directors, and a bracket that promises absolute chaos. The 12-team field is officially locked, and while the “basketball school” jokes are dead and buried, the controversy is just getting started.

The Hoosier Hysteria Dominates the Landscape Of CFP

Let’s just take a moment to appreciate the absurdity of the No. 1 seed of the CFP. Indiana (13-0) isn’t just a feel-good story; it’s a buzzsaw. After taking down the Ohio State Buckeyes in a gritty 13-10 slugfest to claim their first outright Big Ten title since 1945, back when leather helmets were a thing, they’ve earned the top spot.

They get to kick their feet up with a first-round bye, joined by the teams you actually expected to be here: No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia, and No. 4 Texas Tech. Yes, the Red Raiders crushed BYU to steal a bye, proving that the Big 12 is still the Wild West of college football.

The Committee’s “Brand Bias” Strikes Again

Now, let’s get to the spicy part. The part that has message boards melting down from South Bend to Durham.

The final two at-large spots went to Alabama and Miami. If you listen closely, you can hear the collective scream of Notre Dame fans shattering windows across the country because their team got left out of the CFP. The Fighting Irish finished 10-2, winning 10 straight games after a rocky start. But the committee pulled out their favorite magnifying glass: the “Head-to-Head” metric.

Because Miami beat Notre Dame back in August, when it was still hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk, the Canes got the nod. It didn’t matter that Miami didn’t even play for the ACC title. It didn’t matter that Alabama looked absolutely anemic against Georgia in the SEC Championship. The committee looked at the logos on the helmets, looked at the TV ratings, and made a business decision.

Notre Dame’s response? They took their ball and went home, opting out of a bowl game entirely. That is a level of petty I honestly have to respect.

A Tale Of Two Cinderellas

For the first time, we have two Group of 5 champions crashing the party, and honestly, it’s about time.

Tulane (11-2) grabbed the No. 11 seed after winning the American Conference, and James Madison (12-1) took the No. 12 spot representing the Sun Belt. This is where the magic happens. James Madison, a team that was playing FCS football just a few years ago, is now heading to Eugene to play No. 5 Oregon. Do they have a chance? Probably not. The Ducks are 21.5-point favorites for a reason. But that’s why they play the games.

Meanwhile, Tulane has to travel to Oxford to face No. 6 Ole Miss. The narrative here writes itself. The Rebels just lost head coach Lane Kiffin to LSU, leaving Pete Golding to pick up the headset. Can the Green Wave capitalize on the coaching carousel chaos?

The ACC Champion Gets Left In the Cold

We have to pour one out for Duke. The Blue Devils did the unthinkable: they won the ACC Championship, beating Virginia in overtime. They held up the trophy. They popped the champagne. And then the CFP committee looked at their 8-5 record and said, “Thanks for coming, but no thanks.”

Duke Coach Manny Diaz rightfully called out the “computer algorithms” and “playoff predictors” that seem to cloud human judgment. It’s a harsh reality of the current system—winning your conference doesn’t mean squat if you don’t have the “style points” to back it up.

First Round CFP Matchups That Pop

So, what are we looking at for the weekend of December 19-20?

• No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M: This is going to be loud. The 12th Man vs. The U. Miami barely scraped in, and now they have to survive Kyle Field. Good luck.
• No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma: A classic SEC battle… wait, Oklahoma is in the SEC now. It still feels weird to type that. Bama is favored despite being the lower seed because, well, they’re Alabama.
• No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss: The Rebels stomped Tulane earlier this year, but revenge is a dish best served in the playoffs.
• No. 12 JMU at No. 5 Oregon: Autzen Stadium in December. If James Madison pulls this off, build the statue immediately.

Get your popcorn ready. The bracket is set, the arguments are raging, and the road to Hard Rock Stadium is officially open. Let the madness begin that is the CFP.