College Football Playoff 2025: Quarterfinal first look

Just win, baby. None of the hand-wringing around who should be included in the 12-team playoff matters anymore. All that matters is advancing to the quarterfinals, and three teams have done so already. Alabama rallied from down 17-0 to beat Oklahoma on Friday, moving on to play top-seeded Indiana in the Rose Bowl. Then on Saturday, Miami , Ole Miss and Oregon advanced. The Canes beat Texas A&M thanks to an interception in the end zone in the final seconds of the game, and they will play Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. The Rebels took care of business against Tulane 41-10 and will face Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The Ducks beat James Madison 51-34 in the final first-round game and will face Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl. The Rose, Sugar and Orange bowls will be played on Jan. 1, with the Cotton Bowl set for Dec. 31. ESPN's college football writers are already looking ahead, so here's a closer look at those quarterfinal matchups. Jump to: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Texas Tech No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Georgia No.10 Miami vs. No. 2 Ohio State No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 1 Indiana Capital One Orange Bowl : No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Texas Tech When: Jan. 1, noon ET. TV: ESPN No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-1) Road to the playoff: Texas Tech had never come close to competing for the College Football Playoff before, but it made all the right moves this offseason and won the program's first-ever Big 12 title. Joey McGuire hired two excellent new coordinators in Mack Leftwich and Shiel Wood. General manager James Blanchard and the program's billionaire benefactors put together an all-time great transfer portal class with 11 new starters who have perfectly complemented the returning talent and culture. They put it all together and then went out and practically steamrolled their schedule. The Red Raiders won by more than 21 points in every victory this season, finishing with the best scoring margin (552-142) in the FBS. Their exceptional defensive line, led by Lombardi Award winner Jacob Rodriguez , has helped shape one of the best defenses in the country, a unit that is No. 1 against the run and top five in many other metrics. The team's lone loss came by four points on the road against defending Big 12 champ Arizona State when quarterback Behren Morton was out due to injury. Player to watch: Morton has been playing through pain for most of this season after suffering a hairline fracture in his right fibula in the opener. The senior aggravated the injury a month later and sat out two games to try to get better before the Big 12 title race. After the Big 12 title game, Morton told ESPN that he was feeling "about 70 percent" healthy and was looking to a first-round bye and three weeks to recover. Losing No. 2 quarterback Will Hammond to a season-ending torn ACL in late...

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