CNN —
The College Football Playoff (CFP) is once again upon us with weeks of dramatic regular season action all culminating to a riveting postseason of football to crown the national champion. But what was once a competition of four is now a mini-tournament of the 12 best teams in the country, fighting for the ultimate prize in collegiate sport.
Whether you are a fan or a foe of one of the 12 teams in the CFP, it’s worth your time to find out more about them. Here’s everything you need to know:
City: Eugene, Oregon
Mascot: The Oregon Duck
Claimed national championships in history: Zero
Last national championship: Never
Head coach: Dan Lanning
Star players: QB Dillon Gabriel, WR Tez Johnson
Fun fact: The Oregon Duck is basically Donald Duck after the university and Disney came to an agreement in 1973 over the use of Donald’s likeness.
How they got here: The favorite to win the title, No. 1 seed Oregon is peaking at just the right time. In experienced quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who finished third in the Heisman Trophy standings, the Ducks boast one of the best players in college football, with the signal-caller leading Oregon to the No. 1 offense in the Big Ten in 2024. Oregon finished as the only undefeated college football team in 2024 (13-0) and impressively took down Boise State, Penn State and Ohio State during the season, both factors no doubt contributing to the selection committee choosing Oregon as the No. 1 seed.
City: Athens, Georgia
Mascot: Uga (live English bulldog)
Claimed national championships in history: Four
Last national championship: 2022
Head coach: Kirby Smart
Star players: QB Carson Beck, LB Jalon Walker
Fun fact: Uga has an air-conditioned kennel at the side of the field.
How they got here: This will be Georgia’s fourth CFP appearance under head coach Kirby Smart, but this year, he could be without starting quarterback Carson Beck, who suffered an elbow injury in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) title game win over Texas. The Bulldogs finished the season 11-2, which included two wins over the No. 5 Longhorns and one over No. 9 Tennessee, and showed plenty of grit to win the last two games of the season in overtime.
City: Boise, Idaho
Mascot: Buster Bronco
Claimed national championships in history: Zero
Last national championship: Never
Head coach: Spencer Danielson
Star players: RB Ashton Jeanty, DE Jayden Virgin-Morgan
Fun fact: The university has a NASA astronaut teaching on campus. Oh, and they also play their home games on blue turf.
How they got here: With Ashton Jeanty on your team, anything is possible. The Heisman Trophy runner-up is just 132 yards shy of breaking Barry Sanders’ NCAA single-season rushing record, a number he has already reached in 11 games this season. Boise State won its second straight Mountain West Conference Championship and finished the season 12-1 – the only defeat coming in a tight game against Oregon – and head coach Spencer Danielson said his team has been in “playoff mentality since Week One.”
City: Tempe, Arizona
Mascot: Sparky the Sun Devil
Claimed national championships in history: Zero
Last national championship: Never
Head coach: Kenny Dillingham
Star players: RB Cam Skattebo, QB Sam Leavitt
Fun fact: The Sun Devils face the University of Arizona Wildcats for the annual Territorial Cup. Dating back to 1899, it is the oldest rivalry trophy in the United States.
How they got here: Arizona State is possibly the biggest surprise in college football this season. After finishing with a 3-9 record in the Pac-12 last year, the Sun Devils were expected to finish last in their first season in the Big 12. However, the team finished with an 11-2 record – including three wins over top-25-ranked opponents – and won the Big 12 conference title to secure the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye.
City: Austin, Texas
Mascot: Bevo (live Texas longhorn steer)
Claimed national championships in history: Four
Last national championship: 2005
Head coach: Steve Sarkisian
Star players: OT Kelvin Banks Jr., DB Jahdae Barron
Fun fact: The first live longhorn steer was introduced as a mascot in 1916.
How they got here: Texas arrives off the back of a heartbreaking overtime loss to Georgia in the SEC title game, but the team has come a long way since going down 30-15 to the Bulldogs earlier in the season. Head coach Steve Sarkisian led the team to an 11-2 record and has built a potent offense behind starting QB Quinn Ewers and backup Arch Manning, the nephew of legendary NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli.
City: State College, Pennsylvania
Mascot: Nittany Lion
Claimed national championships in history: Two
Last national championship: 1986
Head coach: James Franklin
Star players: DE Abdul Carter, TE Tyler Warren
Fun fact: The inspiration for the mascot was a taxidermy lion displayed at the Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition in 1893.
How they got here: Penn State comes into the College Football Playoffs with an 11-2 record and a Big Ten Championship game appearance after losing 45-37 to Oregon, the best team in the country. The Nittany Lions’ offense has been spread relatively evenly throughout the team, with five players scoring more than four rushing touchdowns and four players boasting more than three receiving touchdowns. The No. 6 seed has a favorable draw, too, as Boise State awaits in the second round.
City: South Bend, Indiana
Mascot: The Leprechaun
Claimed national championships in history: 11
Last national championship: 1988
Head coach: Marcus Freeman
Star players: QB Riley Leonard, RB Jeremiyah Love
Fun fact: At the final home game of the season each year, seniors who celebrating their final time in the student section sneak bags of marshmallows into the stadium, which are then launched across the student section in a marshmallow blizzard. No one seems to know the origin of the tradition.
How they got here: Notre Dame is in a unique position in the CFP. As an independent school that does not belong to any conference, the Fighting Irish were not eligible to be seeded in the top four and receive a bye.
They suffered an embarrassing loss to Northern Illinois in the second game of the regular season that saw the team fall to No. 18 in the rankings, but the Fighting Irish rattled off 10 straight wins to finish the season at 11-1, averaging just over 39.8 points per game.
Notre Dame ended the season ranked No. 5, earning a home game against Indiana.
City: Columbus, Ohio
Mascot: Brutus Buckeye
Claimed national championships in history: Eight
Last national championship: 2014
Head coach: Ryan Day
Star players: WR Jeremiah Smith, S Caleb Downs
Fun fact: Buckeye trees – also known as horse chestnuts – are planted in Buckeye Grove at the southwest corner of the stadium in honor of each Ohio State All-American player.
How they got here: The Buckeyes entered the 2024 season with high expectations and a loaded roster. Their high-powered offense has been on show throughout the year, scoring at least 45 points on four separate occasions.
Ohio State finished the season 10-2, with the first loss being a narrow 32-31 defeat against No. 1 Oregon. Fans still have a sour taste in their mouths over the regular season finale however, where the Buckeyes were upset 13-10 by bitter rival Michigan. A Wolverines player attempted to plant a Michigan banner at midfield in Ohio Stadium, which led to pushing and shoving and eventually punches being thrown by members of both teams.
City: Knoxville, Tennessee
Mascot: Smokey the dog (live bluetick coonhound)
Claimed national championships in history: Six
Last national championship: 1998
Head coach: Josh Heupel
Star players: RB Dylan Sampson, DE James Pearce
Fun fact: The care of Tennessee’s mascot Smokey is entrusted to one of the school’s fraternities.
How they got here: Led by a historic season from Sampson – who was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year and broke the program record for rushing yards – Tennessee finished with a 10-2 record and will make its first CFP appearance.
The Volunteers did tend to be slowed down by opponents within the extremely competitive SEC, averaging 25 points per game against these teams while scoring a whopping 61.8 points per game against non-conference teams.
They are expected to be competitive in the playoff and their efforts in the regular season have set up a blockbuster first round clash with Ohio State. The (unlucky?) reward for the winner? A battle against No. 1 Oregon.
City: Bloomington, Indiana
Mascot: None
Claimed national championships in history: 0
Last national championship: Never
Head coach: Curt Cignetti
Star players: QB Kurtis Rourke, DE Mikail Kamara
Fun fact: The last time Indiana won five straight games by double digits – which it accomplished this season – Theodore Roosevelt, who was US president from September 1901 to March 1909, was in office.
How they got here: What a season it has been for Indiana.
The Hoosiers – traditionally, a basketball powerhouse – have not won a Big Ten conference title since 1967 and had never previously reached the CFP. They had never even won 10 regular season games before this year. First year head coach Cignetti was named National Coach of the Year and led Indiana to an 11-1 record in what was one of the feel-good stories of this season.
The team’s only loss came against Ohio State in its penultimate regular season game, but it immediately bounced back with a 66-0 rout of Purdue to close things out. Expectations have already been exceeded, but the Hoosiers are providing one of the more intriguing storylines heading into the CFP.
City: University Park (Dallas), Texas
Mascot: Peruna (live Shetland pony)
Claimed national championships in history: Three
Last national championship: 1982
Head coach: Rhett Lashlee
Star players: QB Kevin Jennings, RB Brashard Smith
Fun fact: The school’s marching band is known as the “Best Dressed Band in the Land” and has over 29 different uniform combinations.
How they got here: SMU made its debut as an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) member this season, after spending 11 years in American Athletic Conference (AAC). The Mustangs immediately looked at home, going 8-0 against conference opponents and reaching the ACC Championship game, where they were narrowly defeated 34-31 by Clemson.
SMU’s 11-2 record in a new environment is impressive, but its true strength will be put to the test in its first CFP appearance against Penn State. None of the team’s 11 wins came against a squad that ended the season ranked in the Top 25.
City: Clemson, South Carolina
Mascot: The Tiger
Claimed national championships in history: Three
Last national championship: 2018
Head coach: Dabo Swinney
Star players: QB Cade Klubnik, DE TJ Parker
Fun fact: In a Clemson tradition, players enter the stadium by running down a grassy slope known as The Hill. It is referred to as “the most exciting 25 seconds in college football.”
How they got here: Clemson has the most losses of any team in the playoff this year, having gone 11-3 over the course of the season. However, a win over SMU in the ACC Championship game was enough to sneak in as the 12th seed.
This accomplishment is thanks in no small part to head coach Swinney, who is in his 17th season at the helm. He is the program’s all-time winningest coach and led the team to two national titles in 2016 and 2018. The Tigers made the CFP under Swinney for six straight years between 2015 and 2020. A huge test against Texas and its dominant defense awaits.
