College Football Playoff Rankings, Bracket: Oregon, Ohio State and Georgia lead the first 12-team CFP field

There were no surprises in the College Football Playoff's first 12-team rankings.

Oregon was the No. 1 team, ahead of Ohio State, Georgia and Miami. But the Buckeyes end up in 5th place in the scheduled playoff round.

Unlike the previous 10 years when the four-team playoffs were held, the rankings and projected field are not the same. At the end of the 2014-2023 season, the top four teams in the rankings were the four playoff teams. This year, the top five ranked conference champions advance to the playoffs, and then the seven overall teams are selected in order of ranking.

For example, it is possible that the team that was ranked No. 11 in the final rankings in December is not part of the 12-team playoff field because there could be two conference champions further down the rankings.

However, this is not the case in the first ranking. Boise State, the projected fifth seed conference champion, is ranked No. 12 in the initial rankings. That means the top 12 teams in the rankings are the 12 teams in the scheduled playoff round.

Bye in the first round

1.Oregon

2. Georgia

3.Miami

4.BYU

The Cougars were ranked No. 9 while Miami was No. 4. BYU is one of four Big 12 teams in the first ranking, ahead of No. 17 Iowa State, No. 19 Kansas State and No. 20 Colorado.

First round games

No. 12 Boise State and No. 5 Ohio State

No. 11 Alabama at No. 6 Texas

No. 10 Notre Dame and No. 7 Penn State

No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Tennessee

SEC and Big Ten teams dominate the overall bids. Notre Dame is the only team outside of those conferences that would receive an at-large bid in these rankings. In each conference, two teams in the top rankings host first-round playoff games while another team is on the road.

Ohio State is ranked No. 2 as its only loss came against Oregon in a 32-31 thriller. It's entirely possible that the Ducks and Buckeyes will meet again in the Big Ten Championship Game, but Indiana will have a say in that. The Hoosiers will face Columbus on Nov. 23 in a game that could serve as a semifinal of sorts for the conference title game.

SEC title game berths are very up for grabs. Every team in the SEC has at least one conference loss, as Georgia plays No. 16 Ole Miss and No. 11 Alabama visits No. 15 LSU this weekend.

As a reminder, the quarterfinals and semifinals will be played at the venues of the New Year's Six bowl games. The four first-round games will be played at home stadiums, meaning a team seeded in the top four would play three straight games at neutral sites en route to the championship as part of the new playoffs.

Complete top 25

1. Oregon (9-0)

2. Ohio State (7-1)

3. Georgia (7-1)

4. Miami (9-0)

5.Texas (7-1)

6. Penn State (7-1)

7. Tennessee (7-1)

8. Indiana (9-0)

9. BYU (8-0)

10. Notre Dame (7-1)

11. Alabama (6-2)

12. Boise State (7-1)

13. SMU (8-1)

14. Texas A&M (7-2)

15. LSU (6-2)

16. Ole Miss (7-2)

17. Iowa State (7-1)

18. Pitt (7-1)

19. Kansas State (7-2)

20. Colorado (6-2)

21. Washington State (7-1)

22. Louisville (6-3)

23. Clemson (6-2)

24. Missouri (6-2)

25th Army (8-0)