The college football season just finished up its longest year ever, and the Ohio State football team decided to mess around and win the new 12-team College Football Playoff by beating Notre Dame

The first 12-team Playoff had a lot of great moments. It could also use some tweaks. In the short term, leaders are unlikely to make major changes to the format for the 2025 season. The bigger stuff is more likely to come in 2026, when the new contracts kick in and the SEC and Big Ten basically get to do whatever they want.

Ohio State and Texas headline the way-too-early College Football Playoff predictions for the 2025-26 season. With Ohio State projected as the No. 1 seed and Texas close behind at No. 2, these powerhouse programs are shaping up to be the teams to beat.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are one week removed from winning the 2024-25 College Football Playoff. Ryan Day's team took down Notre Dame in the national title game on Monday, January 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta,

Week 1 of the 2025 college football season features a loaded slate, including LSU at Clemson, Notre Dame at Miami and Alabama at Florida State, among others. LSU-Clemson could be a top-five matchup, as could the biggest headliner: Manning and Texas visiting Ohio State in a matchup of the 2024 national champion and our early 2025 favorite.