The 2024–25 College Football Playoff (CFP) made history as the first to feature 12 teams instead of the previous four, using a single-elimination bracket that included five conference champions and seven at-large teams. After the higher-seeded teams won all four first-round games (held on December 20–21 at campus sites), the tournament was rocked by massive upsets in the quarterfinals and semifinals, as all of the top four seeds—including No. 1 Oregon—lost their opening playoff games. This chaotic path paved the way for 7th-seeded Notre Dame and 8th-seeded Ohio State to win their semifinal matchups at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl (January 9–10) and meet in the national championship. In the final on January 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ohio State defeated Notre Dame 34–23 to claim their second CFP national title and their ninth overall in school history. A unique twist of this edition was that it was the only time the four highest-ranked conference champions received first-round byes, as the format will shift to favor the top four overall teams starting in 2025. The selection committee, chaired by Michigan's Warde Manuel, initially ranked Oregon as the top team in November, but the eventual champion emerged from a bracket defined by stunning upsets and underdog triumphs.