ESPN Predicts Winner of CFP National Championship

The first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) bracket was revealed on Sunday, and excitement continues to build for the first-round matchups set to be played on Dec. 20 and Dec. 21.

ESPN college football writer Adam Rittenberg broke down every postseason game, from bowl games to the CFP matchups, sharing his predictions for each one. He even mapped out how he thinks the playoff will play out all the way to the national championship game.

For the first-round games, Rittenberg predicted each home team would get a win and move on to the quarterfinals.

• Notre Dame 31, Indiana 21

• Penn State 34, SMU 23
• Texas 24, Clemson 16
• Ohio State 26, Tennessee 19

The winners would then face teams that had first-round byes. With those results, here are Rittenberg's quarterfinal predictions:

• Penn State 35, Boise State 31
• Texas 33, Arizona State 20
• Oregon 38, Ohio State 35
• Notre Dame 19, Georgia 17

That brings us to the semifinals. Here's what Rittenberg thinks will happen then:

• Notre Dame 27, Penn State 26
• Oregon 31, Texas 21

Rittenberg predicts that the No. 1 Oregon Ducks and the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish will meet in Atlanta, Georgia, on Jan. 20, 2025, in this season's CFP National Championship Game. If that prediction holds, it would be the third all-time meeting between the two teams and the first since 1982.

For this one, he thinks Oregon will cap off an undefeated season and win 38-27.