The bracket for the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff was released on Sunday, and it features a number of marquee matchups. Four first-round games will take place on Dec. 20-21 at home locations, the first time that college programs will host playoff games on campus.
The first round features some of the top teams in the sport and a handful of serious title contenders. Texas plays host to Clemson, while SMU debuts in the CFP against Penn State. Tennessee and Ohio State battle for the right to play 1-seed Oregon, while Indiana gets to stay in state against Notre Dame.
Here are opening lines for 2024-25 College Football Playoff first round, which kicks off the evening of Friday, Dec. 20.
(10) Indiana (+7.5) at (7) Notre Dame — Friday, Dec. 20 (8 p.m. ET): Perhaps the most exciting game on the board takes place at Notre Dame Stadium between in-state rivals. The teams last played in 1991, and before that in 1958. The Hoosiers boast only one win against Notre Dame since 1906. However, this is arguably the best Indiana team in history and should present a serious matchup to the legendary Fighting Irish.
(11) SMU (+8.5) at (6) Penn State — Saturday, Dec. 21 (Noon ET): The Mustangs and Nittany Lions both make their debuts in the College Football Playoff with a cold game at Beaver Stadium. The programs have played twice with one Penn State win and a tie. The story will be the exciting young quarterbacks — Kevin Jennings (SMU) and Drew Allar (Penn State) — who transformed their programs into serious conference contenders. Penn State will be the best defense SMU has played by far.
(12) Clemson (+11.5) at (5) Texas — Saturday, Dec. 21 (4 p.m. ET): Texas plays host to Clemson in the first-ever matchup between these two national championship programs. Tigers coach Dabo Swinney has two titles to his name, while Steve Sarkisian is searching for his first after taking over the Longhorns in 2021. The matchup features two of the nation’s top defenses and a pair of quarterbacks — Cade Klubnik (Westlake) and Quinn Ewers (Southlake Carroll) — that played in a Texas high school state title game in 2020.
(9) Tennessee (+6.5) at (8) Ohio State — Saturday, Dec. 21 (8 p.m. ET): After losing to Michigan, Ohio State fell out of Big Ten title contention and down to the 8-seed. Their gift in the first round at Ohio Stadium will be Tennessee, a team with a powerful defense and limited offense. The Buckeyes have far better skill talent and a comparably good defense, but the offensive line will have to step up to the challenge. Tennessee won the lone matchup between these two teams in 1996.
