The 2025 college football regular season came to an eventful close this past week, locking in the conference championship matchups and giving one final tune-up before the most meaningful games begin. With drama on deck as we hit these pivotal contests, we’re diving into latest edition of the projected bracket to see how the new rankings compare to betting odds on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Here’s a breakdown of the updated rankings and bracket with insight on how they stack up to our own numbers before conference championship week kicks off.
College Football Playoff rankings, odds
Here’s a look at the latest projected bracket outlining the College Football Playoff picture, along with details on the updated rankings and DraftKings Sportsbook odds for each team below.
Not much changed last week, but we finally have another shakeup in the top-four teams which are each set to receive a bye to open the postseason. Ohio State and Indiana remain the two top dogs ahead of Saturday’s Big Ten title game that pits the two programs against each other. The implications of that contest could prove massive, but there’s also a chance the CFP voters don’t knock one significantly in the rankings after losing to the other. How their final positioning shakes out will prove very interesting.
Elsewhere in the top-four spots, Georgia now moves up to the third seed while Texas Tech slots in at No. 4. The Red Raiders took over the place formerly held by Texas A&M as the Aggies dropped down to No. 7 following a 27-17 loss at the hands of Texas (more on this shortly), just the latest chapter in that historic rivalry. Texas Tech takes on BYU in the Big 12 Championship and is all but assured to lock in this top-four seed with a win, which would also mark the program’s first title in the conference.
Taking the Red Raiders’ former place at No. 5 is Oregon. The Ducks move up one spot and are the first team mentioned here to not make their conference championship game, but they still look like a real contender and would have the benefit of drawing a first-round matchup against the final team to sneak into the College Football Playoff. At No. 6 comes Ole Miss, which also moved up one spot but will now compete without former head coach Lane Kiffin, who moved on to take the LSU job and is no longer with the Rebels’ program.
That brings us to this week’s big faller, Texas A&M. As mentioned above, the Aggies are now No. 7 in the rankings and bracket after losing to Texas last week. It’s a significant drop for a program that sat inside the top four for much of the campaign and held an undefeated record until the final game of the regular season, but A&M also missed out on an appearance in the SEC Championship. That keeps them from making one final push back up for a bye week, so the implications are quite notable. It would be tough to not talk about the Longhorns as well in this section after the standout win. While Texas doesn’t have odds to make the CFP on DraftKings Sportsbook, the program did rise three spots from No. 16 to No. 13 in the latest rankings. Were two fewer conference champions given an automatic bid, the Longhorns would be the first team out.
No. 8 remains unchanged from last week as Oklahoma still holds on after a roller coaster in the rankings over the last few weeks, but there’s some slight movement at the the two spots behind the Sooners. Alabama and Notre Dame each flipped positions to No. 9 and No. 10, respectively. These are the two heaviest favorites to make it into the final field on DraftKings Sportsbook (the other teams mentioned above have all seen odds pulled). After going up to the ninth seed, the Crimson Tide’s odds shifted massively to -1800 from last week’s listing of -200, showing they’re essentially locked in for an at-large bid. Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish’s odds continue to fall and now sit at -500 after dropping from -2500 to -1400 last week. They should still make it in, but BYU looms just behind at No. 11 in the College Football Playoff rankings with +400 odds to sneak into the final field — in the event the Cougars win the Big 12 title, that could potentially bump Texas Tech down to an at-large bid and push Notre Dame out entirely.
Finally, the last two conference champions slot into the 11th and 12th seeds in the postseason bracket. The ACC, American Conference and Sun Belt are all contending to send winners to the big show, but only two champs can make it in. In the ACC, Virginia and Duke play for the title — the most likely scenario sees the Cavaliers win that game and secure the higher of the two remaining playoff seeds thanks to their No. 17 ranking. The Blue Devils aren’t listed in the latest rankings but hold +2000 odds to make the CFP. Assuming Virginia makes it in as feels likely, that leaves one remaining College Football Playoff berth for four possible teams (two after the games are finished).
The competition is still for the last spot in the bracket. In the American Conference, No. 20 Tulane faces No. 24 North Texas on Saturday in what should be a very fun battle. With both sides ranked and UNT a slim -2.5 favorite, this should be a close contest and there’s a strong case for whichever wins to move up a spot or two and likely secure the final playoff seed. Neither the Green Wave nor the Mean Green have odds on DraftKings Sportsbook, but No. 25 James Madison comes in at +150. The Dukes went 11-1 this season and are massive 23.5-point favorites over Troy in the Sun Belt matchup, but likely won’t pass up whichever team wins the AAC in the final edition.
The team which did get bumped out entirely since last week but still holds odds to sneak into the College Football Playoff is Miami. The Hurricanes didn’t make the ACC title game but are listed at No. 12 in the latest rankings, but it would likely take a miracle to make it in and compete in the postseason. There’s a reason the program sits at +650 odds, so for the most part, the field appears set with just the last couple of CFP berths and seeding still up for grabs.
See the latest College Football Playoff rankings below.
