Eight CFP bracket scenarios imagined for 2025

A structured look at eight imagined CFP brackets for the 2025 season under the new 12-team format.

Eight CFP Bracket Scenarios Redesign the 2025 Playoff Landscape

Sports Illustrated maps eight bracket visions for the 2025 College Football Playoff, made possible by a new 12-team format. The scenarios range from a tight, plausible path to a chaotic fantasy, tracing routes from Week Zero to the national title game in Miami. Fans would see automatic berths, possible first-round byes, and a mix of familiar powerhouses and surprise teams.

The exercise is more than a forecast; it tests how changes to seeding and conference strength could shift how teams schedule, recruit, and chase the title. It also shows how bracket storytelling fuels engagement, inviting readers to compare narratives and cheer for underdogs even as the real season unfolds.

The eight brackets reveal how much the playoff conversation has shifted from pure outcomes to narrative design. Seeding and byes could tilt early-round pressure toward the top teams, while the possibility of multiple teams from the same conference could alter perceptions of fairness and scheduling.

The exercise is a reminder that fans crave structure and drama. It also flags challenges ahead: balancing travel, TV windows, and the reality that a season can be shaped by injuries, transfers, and a path to the title that changes with each week.

Highlights

The season will test not just teams but the meaning of a playoff in today’s sports media era.