ESPN’s panel of experts updated their College Football Playoff picks after a crazy Week 12 that featured Alabama losing at home to Oklahoma and Texas A&M pulling off 1 of the most incredible comebacks in college football history with that stunner over South Carolina.
The slate was capped by Georgia’s emphatic victory over Texas in primetime, which booted the Longhorns out of Playoff contention with a 3rd loss.
ESPN’s 11 experts all had those cardiac Aggies 3rd in their CFP picks, with every expert also putting Ohio State at No. 1 and Indiana at No. 2, so the top 3 was exactly the same in every expert’s eyes as we head toward the final 2 weeks of the 2025 regular season.
And what about Alabama after its home winning streak was snapped at 17 by those Sooners? The Crimson Tide were still a part of the Playoff field for all 11 ESPN experts, although their seeding obviously took a hit. All 11 experts also had Georgia and Oklahoma as part of the updated field, and Ole Miss was also part of the updated Playoff field for every expert after it took care of business at home against Florida on Saturday night.
Last season featured the first 12-team Playoff format, with Ohio State beating Notre Dame in the national title game. The Buckeyes are still undefeated in 2025 through Week 12, and 11 experts believe they are the top-seeded team right now. Of course, there’s still plenty of football left, with plenty of time for the chaotic ACC to sort itself out and for that Group of 5 team to emerge and grab a Playoff spot.
Rankings by the CFP selection committee will determine the bids that go to the 5 highest-ranked conference champions and the 7 highest-ranked remaining at-large teams. The top 4 conference champions will automatically be seeded 1-4 and receive first-round byes. Seeds 5-12 will play on-campus, first-round games (No. 12 at No. 5, No. 11 at No. 6, etc.).
Here are the latest Playoff picks from ESPN’s 11 experts:
Andrea Adelson: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Texas Tech 5. Georgia 6. Oregon 7. Ole Miss 8. Oklahoma 9. Alabama 10. Notre Dame 11. Virginia 12. North Texas
Kyle Bonagura: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Georgia 5. Texas Tech 6. Oregon 7. Ole Miss 8. Oklahoma 9. Alabama 10. Notre Dame 11. Virginia 12. North Texas
Bill Connelly: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Texas Tech 5. Georgia 6. Oregon 7. Ole Miss 8. Oklahoma 9. Notre Dame 10. Alabama 11. Georgia Tech 12. North Texas
David Hale: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Georgia 5. Texas Tech 6. Ole Miss 7. Oklahoma 8. Miami 9. Alabama 10. Notre Dame 11. Oregon 12. James Madison
Eli Lederman: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Georgia 5. Texas Tech 6. Oregon 7. Ole Miss 8. Oklahoma 9. Alabama 10. Notre Dame 11. Georgia Tech 12. North Texas
Max Olson: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Georgia 5. Texas Tech 6. Ole Miss 7. Oregon 8. Oklahoma 9. Alabama 10. Notre Dame 11. Georgia Tech 12. North Texas
Adam Rittenberg: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Georgia 5. Texas Tech 6. Oregon 7. Ole Miss 8. Oklahoma 9. Alabama 10. Notre Dame 11. Virginia 12. North Texas
Mark Schlabach: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Georgia 5. Texas Tech 6. Oregon 7. Ole Miss 8. Oklahoma 9. Notre Dame 10. Alabama 11. Virginia 12. North Texas
Jake Trotter: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Georgia 5. Texas Tech 6. Oregon 7. Ole Miss 8. Oklahoma 9. Notre Dame 10. Alabama 11. Georgia Tech 12. North Texas
Paolo Uggetti: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Georgia 5. Texas Tech 6. Oregon 7. Ole Miss 8. Oklahoma 9. Notre Dame 10. Alabama 11. Virginia 12. James Madison
Dave Wilson: 1. Ohio State 2. Indiana 3. Texas A&M 4. Georgia 5. Texas Tech 6. Oregon 7. Ole Miss 8. Oklahoma 9. Notre Dame 10. Alabama 11. Georgia Tech 12. North Texas
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
