College Football Playoff Prediction: Joel Klatt projects 12-team CFB bracket entering October

Like most college football pundits, FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt took a stab at predicting how the 2025 College Football Playoff could shake out prior to any games being played this August. And, by his own admission, “it was garbage” after he picked multi-loss Clemson to win it all once again.

But after a month’s worth of games, and as the calendar turns to October, Klatt took the opportunity to completely overhaul his 2025 College Football Playoff projections, including selecting an all new set of Power Four conference champions.

“I tried to do it as much like the committee as I possibly could,” Klatt said during Wednesday’s episode of The Joel Klatt Show podcast. “There you go, the October bracket prediction. Let’s hope it’s better than the original. … We already know it was terrible. I had Clemson winning the national championship. It was garbage.”

Check out how Klatt’s overhauled projection of the 2025 College Football Playoff 12-team field at the beginning of October:

First-round byes

1. Ohio State (Big Ten champion)
2. Miami (ACC champion)
3. Oregon
4. Texas (SEC champion)

Klatt expects the defending national champion Buckeyes to continue rolling through conference play before beating fellow undefeated Oregon in the Big Ten championship game. Based on Klatt’s projection, the Ducks still earn a Top 4 seed despite losing to Ohio State in Indianapolis. He also expects Miami to cruise through the ACC either undefeated “or at worst a one-loss team” to secure the No. 2 overall seed. And for the No. 4 seed, Klatt projects a two-loss Texas will rebound from its slow start to the season to win the SEC championship.

Klatt: “It’s not just the four-best champions that get these Top 4 seeds and the byes, it’s just going to be seeded 1-12 and the best four teams in the country will get the byes. So I think Oregon will be one of those, particularly if they face Ohio State as an undefeated.”

No. 12 USF (top Group of Five champ) at No. 5 Texas Tech (Big 12 champion)

The FOX Sports analyst gives Texas Tech the No. 5 overall seed as an “at-worst” one-loss Big 12 champion, where the Red Raiders will play American Conference champion South Florida. The Bulls jumped into the Top 25 with back-to-back upsets over ranked opponents Boise State and Florida to open the season and are should be back in the mix if it can run the gauntlet and win the American.

Klatt: “I’m a big believer in Texas Tech. After covering them and meeting with their team and meeting with their coaches, there’s just something real about not only Joey McGuire, but that defense and that defensive line. … For a group of guys that came together through the transfer portal, their chemistry blew me away.”

No. 11 Notre Dame at No. 6 Ole Miss

Based on Klatt’s projection, Lane Kiffin and the fourth-ranked Rebels will keep rolling through SEC play before coming up short against Texas the SEC Championship game. If that’s the case, Ole Miss would matchup against a Notre Dame squad that Klatt expects to “run the table” the rest of the regular season. Should that happen, Klatt believes the Irish’s early-season losses to Miami — his ACC champ — and Texas A&M would benefit them in the committee’s eyes.

Klatt: “Ole Miss is going to have a great chance to play for the SEC championship and if they do, even if they lose, six would be a low-end for them from a seed perspective. … (And) I think Notre Dame comes all the way back and they get into this thing. … If they run the table, they get in.”

No. 10 Georgia at No. 7 Texas A&M

Klatt expects the Texas-Texas A&M game at the end of the regular-season will not only be for bragging rights but also a ticket to the SEC championship game in Atlanta. And based on his projections, the Longhorns will once again edge out the rival Aggies, this time in Austin, with A&M securing an at-large bid only to face off against the fifth and final SEC qualifier in Georgia, which Klatt expects will lose at least one more game, likely to either Texas or Ole Miss.

Klatt: “A&M is going to be right there, folks, I’m telling you: watch out for A&M. … (And) I think Georgia is still going to go to the Playoff. If they’re 10-2, they’re going to be in. And in this scenario, they would be a 10-2 football team.”

No. 9 Penn State at No. 8 Alabama

Klatt acknowledges the Crimson Tide are in great position to control their own destiny after last weekend’s win at Georgia, and could even make the SEC title game in Atlanta. But with five Top 25 games still ahead over the next seven weeks, Klatt expects another loss or two for the Tide. By the same token, Klatt remains a believer in Penn State after last Saturday’s setback against Oregon, but still expects the Nittany Lions will fall to top-ranked Ohio State in Columbus later this season.

Klatt: “This team is improving every single week. I think their quarterback could be one of the better if not the best quarterback in the country, and at times he plays absolutely the best quarterback in the country. … Alabama, they’ve got all of those key games, so I think they’d have more of those marque wins than Penn State would.”…”

Just outside the College Football Playoff field

13. Indiana
14. Michigan
15. Tennessee
16. Oklahoma