Chaos & The College Football Playoff Bracket
Scott Morris | December 5, 2025
Hunter Yurachek is the chairman of the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. Depending upon what happens this weekend – there are nine conference championship games – he may face some nightmare situations.
The first part of Yurachek’s job will be easy. Five teams will automatically qualify for the upcoming CFP. That will be the five highest-ranked conference champions. However, picking the seven best at-large teams is going to be difficult. It will be even more difficult if Duke beats Virginia in Saturday’s ACC title game. And that’s just one chaos scenario.
Bubble Teams
Heading into this weekend, Notre Dame, BYU, and Miami are ranked No. 10, 11, and 12 in the latest CFP rankings. Only one of those teams – BYU – will play this weekend. Notre Dame, of course, is an independent and doesn’t play in a conference. Miami lost out on a tiebreaker and will not play in the ACC championship game.
That means both Miami and Notre Dame will be dependent upon other teams to help nudge them into this year’s College Football Playoff. But, does BYU need to beat Texas Tech to make it? A Cougars win could create even more chaos.
BYU Beats Texas Tech in Big 12 Championship Game
The Cougars only loss this season came to the Red Raiders on the Texas Tech home field. It was the only game that BYU was never really in. Now, it’s hard to beat a team twice in one season, but the Red Raiders are once again double-digit favorites against BYU.
But, what if the Cougars actually pull off the upset? BYU would automatically qualify for the CFP, but Texas Tech would be a two-loss team. How far would they drop in the rankings?
This scenario is also the only way that BYU makes the CFP. With another loss to Texas Tech, BYU will be a two-loss, non-conference champion that will likely fall out of the top-12. You can bet Yurachek is rooting for the Red Raiders.
He also would rather see Georgia beat Alabama.
Alabama vs. Georgia Again
No. 3 Georgia faces No. 9 Alabama at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday. The venue helps the Bulldogs, who need all the help they can get. Georgia has only beaten Alabama once in the last ten meetings against the Crimson Tide.
The two teams played on Sept. 27 in Georgia at Sanford Stadium. Alabama led 24-14 at the half. Georgia scored in the third quarter but neither team scored again and the Tide went home with a 24-21 victory.
Alabama is now 6-1 SU and ATS in the last seven games against Georgia when the Tide is listed as the underdog. What if it happens again?
The Tide already has two losses, but would qualify for the playoff as the SEC champion. Georgia would also be a two-loss team, but would they fall past No. 12 with both losses being to Alabama?
Then, consider what happens if Georgia beats Alabama. Will the committee leave out a three-loss Alabama? They may have to, especially if Duke wins the ACC championship game.
ACC Title Game Rematch
The biggest doomsday scenario of all is probably the result of the ACC title game. Virginia beat Duke earlier this season, 34-17 at Duke. The Cavaliers outgained the Blue Devils 540 to 255 and held one of the nation’s more prolific passing games to 213 yards.
The ACC championship is at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Maybe that helps Duke somewhat. The books don’t think so as Virginia opened as a 2.5-point favorite and they are now up to a 4-point favorite at most sportsbooks.
But, what if the Blue Devils pull the upset? That would create a truly interesting situation where Yurachek and the committee would essentially have to choose between Duke and then a team like James Madison or, possibly, North Texas.
JMU is a 23.5-point favorite to win the Sun Belt Conference championship. Style points will matter for the Dukes, who boast the 10th-highest scoring offense (37.8 ppg) in the country as well as 10th-best scoring defense.
The Dukes are also ranked No. 25 right now and with a victory in the Sun Belt title game would finish 12-1. The only loss was a 28-14 defeat at Louisville early in the season. Duke would be 8-5 with an ACC title win and that would be the only win against a team in the current top-25.
Final Thoughts
One thing is clear. Yurachek and the selection committee are rooting for favorites this weekend. They want Texas Tech, Georgia, and Virginia to win. Ohio State and Indiana in the Big Ten title game really doesn’t matter. Both teams are a lock for the CFP.
But, if BYU beats Texas Tech, there will be some chaos. If the Cougars and Alabama win, we’ll see even more chaos. The nightmare scenario for the CFP committee would be a trifecta of upset losses by Texas Tech, Georgia, and Virginia.
