Key matchups, players to watch and projections for CFP qu...

What’s Happening

Breaking it down: We break down Ohio State-Miami, Texas Tech-Oregon, Indiana-Alabama and Georgia-Ole Miss.

2025 CFP quarterfinals preview: Keys to all four matchups play Finebaum explains how Miami can upset Ohio State (1:07) Paul Finebaum sees a narrow path for Miami to beat Ohio State. (1:07) Bill Connelly Dec 30, 2025, 07:00 AM ET Close Bill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. (shocking, we know)

He covers college football, soccer and tennis.

The Details

He has been at ESPN since 2019. Follow on X Email Print Open Extended Reactions A rematch of one of the most contentious national title games of the 2000s (Miami-Ohio State).

A rematch of a fun October track meet (Georgia-Ole Miss). A battle between new-ish money (Oregon) and new money (Texas Tech).

Why This Matters

A classic matchup between a proven, unbeaten powerhouse (Indiana) and a scrappy close-game-winning underdog (Alabama, somehow). The quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff kick off Wednesday evening in Arlington, Texas, and they feature something for everyone. They could produce semifinals between four of the sport’s biggest brands or they could give us a huge dose of new-brand energy.

The sports world never stops delivering these kinds of storylines.

Key Takeaways

• They should give us at least a couple of classics.
• Here’s everything you need to follow for what sure looks like a dynamite round of games.
• Updated CFP projections We had two minor upsets in the first round, with two road teams (Miami and Alabama) advancing for the first time.
• But the overall title odds didn’t change all that much from an SP+ perspective.

The Bottom Line

10 Miami Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: Wednesday, 7:30 p. ET, ESPN The 2003 Fiesta Bowl was the first classic title game of the BCS era.

Are you here for this or nah?