College Football Playoff bracket, results: Top four seeds all stumble in quarterfinals

Bye teams go 0-4 in inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff

Boise State wide receiver Cameron Camper reacts after losing to Penn State. / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Third-seeded Boise State started a trend in the College Football Playoff. 

After capturing their second straight Mountain West title, the Broncos received a CFP first-round bye as one of the four highest-ranked conference champions. The byes turned out to be a death sentence in the inaugural 12-team playoff. 

No. 1 Oregon (SEC), No. 2 Georgia (SEC), No. 4 Arizona State (Big 12) and Boise State all lost in the quarterfinals after earning first-round byes. All four were sluggish coming out of the gates. 

Nobody performed worse than the top-ranked Ducks, the only undefeated team in the field. No. 8 Ohio State stormed out to a 34-0 lead en route to an easy 41-21 Rose Bowl victory. 

In Tuesday’s Fiesta Bowl, the Broncos found themselves in a 14-0 hole against No. 6 Penn State before rallying back to make it a 17-14 game early in the third quarter. The Nittany Lions pulled away late for a 31-14 win. 

Arizona State fell behind 17-3 in the Peach Bowl against No. 5 Texas. The game turned out to be a double-overtime thriller with the Longhorns escaping, 39-31. 

Georgia also got off to a brutal start in its Sugar Bowl matchup with No. 7 Notre Dame, trailing 13-3 at halftime. The Fighting Irish knocked off the SEC champions, 23-10. 

Format changes could be coming to the College Football Playoff after all four bye teams failed to advance. 

ESPN’s Heather Dinich said those changes are unlikely to occur before the 2025-26 season.

“It is critical that people understand that in order for any changes to be made next season regarding the seeding or home games or whatever that might be, everyone involved in the College Football Playoff who has a position of power has to agree to it,” Dinich said. 

“We’re still in a period where it has to be unanimous. So, we’re talking about Group of 5 commissioners, including the Mountain West, where you’ve got Boise State not only in (the CFP), but with a first-round bye, conceding that possibly. … I don’t think that’s going to happen. My sources are telling me changes for next year are probably unlikely.”

Here is the updated 12-team College Football Playoff bracket with the first-round and quarterfinal results: 

All times listed are Mountain Standard Time

First round

Friday, Dec. 20 

No. 7 Notre Dame 27, No. 10 Indiana 17

Saturday, Dec. 21 

No. 6 Penn State 38, No. 11 SMU 10

No. 5 Texas 38, No. 12 Clemson 24

No. 8 Ohio State 42, No. 9 Tennessee 17

Quarterfinals 

Tuesday, Dec. 31

Fiesta Bowl: No. 6 Penn State 31, No. 3 Boise State 14

Wednesday, Jan. 1 

Peach Bowl: No. 5 Texas 39, No. 4 Arizona State 31 (double-overtime)

Rose Bowl: No. 8 Ohio State 41, No. 1 Oregon 21

Thursday, Jan. 2

Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Notre Dame 23, No. 2 Georgia 10

Semifinals

Thursday, Jan. 9

Orange Bowl: No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 7 Notre Dame, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Friday, Jan. 10 

Cotton Bowl: No. 5 Texas vs. No. 8 Ohio State, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)

CFP championship game

Monday, Jan. 20

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta

Orange Bowl winner vs. Cotton Bowl winner, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)

MORE BOISE STATE NEWS & ANALYSIS

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• Ashton Jeanty falls just short of Barry Sanders’ single-season rushing record

• Boise State transfer portal tracker: Ohio State offensive lineman signs with Broncos

• Format change coming to College Football Playoff?

• Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson: ‘What we did this year is not going to be enough going forward’

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