Defense wins championships, they say. That was true of Texas Tech, whose dominant unit overwhelmed BYU behind two key takeaways to win the Big 12 Championship Game and book the Red Raiders a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff.

Ben Roberts intercepted Bear Bachmeier twice, and the Texas Tech offense turned both into points to finally pull away from BYU and win its first-ever conference championship.

With the win, they’ll present a decisive case to the selection committee to stay within the top-four, especially given one of either No. 1 Ohio State or No. 2 Indiana will have to lose the Big Ten championship later today.

Where do things stand in the latest bracket projection? Let’s project what 12 teams will make the College Football Playoff, as of Texas Tech’s big win on Saturday.

Predicting the College Football Playoff bracket

Subject to change pending other Championship Week results

1. Ohio State. We project the Buckeyes will stay perfect by narrowly defeating Indiana to win the Big Ten championship and secure the top overall seed in the playoff.

2. Georgia. Our current expectation is that the Bulldogs will avenge their regular season loss to Alabama and win their second-straight SEC championship.

3. Texas Tech. One of college football’s best defenses left no doubt as to its reputation after swarming BYU to win the Big 12 championship, securing a first-round bye.

4. Indiana. Although we think the Hoosiers will lose the Big Ten title game, it won’t be by much, and they have the overall resume to stay within the top four.

5. Oregon. The one-loss Ducks will stay in the top-five, parked behind the Indiana squad that gave them that defeat earlier this season.

6. Ole Miss. The committee signaled that Lane Kiffin’s exit hasn’t affected the Rebels so far, so it’s likely they’ll stay at 6 when the final bracket is unveiled.

7. Texas A&M. That loss to Texas in the finale deprived the Aggies of a shot at the SEC championship, but the rest of their combined achievements should ensure they won’t have fallen far enough to not host a game in the first round.

8. Oklahoma. One of the nation’s toughest defenses put the Sooners back in playoff contention with a late-season push, but we’ll see how well John Mateer and this offense is able to navigate once the postseason starts.

9. Notre Dame. We expect Alabama loses the SEC championship, allowing the Irish room to move up by one spot.

10. Alabama. Here is where we could see some controversy. There’s a chance the committee keeps the Tide in the bracket if they lose close against Georgia, especially after the selectors jumped Bama over the Irish in the last poll, signaling real confidence in them, win or lose.

But watch for Miami, which will move up in the rankings after BYU’s loss, and there’s a very good case that the Hurricanes deserve it more. Miami would have one fewer loss than Alabama, and that head-to-head win over Notre Dame, too. What do we think? If Georgia beats Alabama, Miami deserves it. The committee may think otherwise, using whatever argument they pick that day.

11. Virginia. James Madison fans are rooting against the Hoos in the ACC championship, because if Virginia loses to Duke, that could pave the way for the selectors to add a second Group of Five team, with JMU ready to take advantage. We still think Virginia beats Duke, though.

12. Tulane. A dominant defensive performance allowed the Green Wave to take out North Texas and win the American championship, and likely entrench their position as the highest-ranked Group of Five team.

What the College Football Playoff bracket would look like

12 Tulane at 5 Oregon
Winner plays 4 Indiana

11 Virginia at 6 Ole Miss
Winner plays 3 Texas Tech

10 Alabama at 7 Texas A&M
Winner plays 2 Georgia

9 Notre Dame at 8 Oklahoma
Winner plays 1 Ohio State

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Georgia‘s athletic department is headed to court in a potentially precedent-setting legal effort to recoup approximately $390,000 in damages from former Bulldogs defensive end Damon Wilson, according to ESPN’s Dan Murphy. Wilson is Missouri‘s top pass rusher this season after transferring in from Georgia this past January.

Georgia filed a civil suit Nov. 19 requesting an Athens-Clarke County judge to compel Wilson into arbitration to settle a clause in an agreement he had with the Bulldogs’ team collective that effectively served as a buyout fee for exiting his NIL deal early when he transferred to Mizzou following the conclusion of last season. A copy of the lawsuit was obtained by On3‘s UGASports.com.

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Wilson played for the Bulldogs in 2023 and 2024, and signed a new NIL agreement with Georgia’s Classic City Collective two weeks prior to entering the NCAA Transfer Portal this past January. Through its collective, Georgia initially paid Wilson a total of $30,000 before his transfer, and now claims Wilson still owes the school a lump sum of $390,000 that was due within 30 days of his decision to leave the team, per ESPN.

The particular clause cited in Wilson’s deal with the Classic City Collective is for “liquidated damages” that many schools and collectives have inserted into their NIL agreements to both protect their investment in players and deter transfers, per ESPN. Georgia is believed to be among the first college athletic departments to publicly try to enforce the “liquidated damages” clause by filing suit against the player.

“When the University of Georgia Athletic Association enters binding agreements with student-athletes, we honor our commitments and expect student-athletes to do the same,” Georgia athletics spokesman Steven Drummond told ESPN in a statement Friday afternoon.

Wilson signed a term sheet with the Classic City Collective in early December 2024, shortly before the Bulldogs’ College Football Playoff quarterfinal loss to Notre Dame. Wilson’s 14-month contract with the collective was worth $500,000 to be distributed in monthly payments of $30,000 with two additional $40,000 bonus payments to be paid out in February and June 2025 once this past year’s transfer portal windows closed for remaining committed to Georgia, according to legal documents obtained by On3.

Wilson’s contract with Georgia’s collective reportedly dictated that should Wilson either withdraw from the team or enter the transfer portal during the term of the deal, he’d owe Classic City Collective a lump sum equal to the remaining money he would’ve received had he stayed with the Bulldogs through the length of the term sheet. The collective’s damages calculation does not include the two bonus payments that weren’t ultimately paid out. The Classic City Collective ultimately signed over the rights to those damages to Georgia’s athletic department on July 1 after most schools took over player payments following the June passing of the House Settlement.

Wilson leads Missouri with nine sacks this year and ranks third on the team with 9.5 tackles for loss and 20 total tackles in his first season in Columbia. Wilson had 3.5 total sacks in two seasons at Georgia.

All that Tulane had to do was take down North Texas to win the American Conference championship, and it was all but assured a place in the College Football Playoff picture.

That they did, coming off a strong defensive performance to all but clinch what should be the highest position among Group of Five teams in the forthcoming CFP rankings as Selection Day draws near.

Coming into Championship Week, there was some newfound confusion around the final two seeds in the latest playoff bracket, with the committee leaving them blank as they await developments in the Group of Five and the ACC Championship Game.

With still plenty of football yet to be played this weekend, here is our latest projection for what the playoff field will look like after Tulane won the American title.

Predicting the College Football Playoff field after Tulane’s win

1. Ohio State. Our current projection is that the Buckeyes are able to stay undefeated and pass the test against perfect Indiana to win the Big Ten championship on the back of the top-ranked defense in college football and secure the No. 1 seed.

2. Georgia. Kirby Smart may be 1-7 against Alabama, but his defense could have a decisive advantage against a Crimson Tide offense that doesn’t look like its dominant self to win the SEC championship for a second-straight season.

3. Texas Tech. Arguably college football’s best defense, and inarguably the best in school history, should still have an edge against a BYU team it beat by 22 points a couple weeks ago, this time to win the Big 12 championship.

4. Indiana. The projected loss we foresee against the Buckeyes should be very close, within the narrow point spread, enough to stay tucked inside the top four for a team that has looked unstoppable and leads the nation in scoring margin this season.

5. Oregon. The one-loss Ducks should stay in the top-five, but behind the Indiana team that gave them that loss, by 10 points at Eugene earlier this season.

6. Ole Miss. Lane Kiffin’s departure for LSU didn’t hurt the Rebels’ position in the rankings, and they should stay in the picture to host a first-round game.

7. Texas A&M. No shot at the SEC championship after that loss against rival Texas, but the Aggies have done enough to warrant hosting a first-round game.

8. Oklahoma. The Sooners, especially their smothering defense, made a statement in the latter half of the season to move into the right side of the playoff bracket.

9. Notre Dame. A loss by Alabama should enable the Irish to move up one spot, even if arguments still persist, and credibly so, that Miami might deserve it more given its head to head win over the Golden Domers and their comparable resumes.

10. Alabama. Despite there being other teams on the bubble that could have an argument — namely BYU, Miami, Texas, and Vanderbilt — the selectors will prefer the loser of the SEC Championship Game over them, provided it’s close to make that decision easier.

11. Virginia. James Madison fans are cheering for Duke to beat Virginia for the ACC championship, but that’s not a result we expect, allowing the Cavaliers to sneak in at the bottom of the field. If Duke does it, Tulane moves to 11 and James Madison to 12.

12. Tulane. An inspired defense and some help from a hapless North Texas offense allowed the Green Wave to win the American Conference championship to secure the highest position in the rankings by any Group of Five team.

What the College Football Playoff bracket could look like

First Round Games

12 Tulane at 5 Oregon
Winner plays 4 Indiana

11 Virginia at 6 Ole Miss
Winner plays 3 Texas Tech

10 Alabama at 7 Texas A&M
Winner plays 2 Georgia

9 Notre Dame at 8 Oklahoma
Winner plays 1 Ohio State

Read more from College Football HQ

The 2025 SEC Championship will feature a showdown between two elite quarterbacks: Alabama Crimson Tide’s Ty Simpson vs Georgia Bulldogs’ Alabama Crimson Tide. Both have led their respective programs to this stage with elite play on the field, as evidenced by offensive numbers topping the SEC charts.

Let’s compare them on several fronts before the highly anticipated SEC showdown:

Ty Simpson vs Gunner Stockton: Stats

Both quarterbacks have one thing in common. They both had to patiently wait for their time before getting the opportunity to lead the team right from the start of the season. Simpson used to back up Jalen Milroe, while Gunner Stockton had to play behind Carson Beck.

In terms of rushing, Simpson has rushed for 126 yards on 75 carries, including two touchdowns. On the other hand, Stockton seems a better rusher, as he has rushed for 403 yards on 103 carries, including eight touchdowns.

Ty Simpson vs Gunner Stockton: Head-to-Head Comparison

There is only one match where both quarterbacks dueled it out. It happened in the 2025 regular season, in which Simpson’s Alabama defeated Stockton’s Georgia 24-21. In that game, Stockton completed 13 of 20 passes for one touchdown. He also rushed for 22 yards on five carries. On the other hand, Simpson completed 24 of 38 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 12 yards on four carries, including one score.

Ty Simpson vs Gunner Stockton: NIL deals

Alabama’s Ty Simpson recently signed a high-profile NIL deal with Gatorade for 2025. He already has a diverse NIL portfolio, including deals with Hugo Boss, EA Sports, Raising Cane’s, Hollister, Panini and Topps. He is represented by “QB Reps.” According to On3, his NIL valuation is around $948,000.

Meanwhile, Georgia’s Gunner Stockton has signed NIL deals with CAVA, HEYDUDE footwear, Athens Area Humane Society, Associated Credit Union (ACU), and The Dairy Alliance (part of their “Milk’s Got Game” campaign). According to On3, his NIL valuation is around $524,000.

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