We just finished watching the first-ever FBS 12 team playoff and even though some of the games weren’t competitive we loved every minute of it. The memory of driving home from work on a Friday night to watch the first-round game between Indiana and Notre Dame will live forever.
There were some surprise teams that made the playoff to go along with the teams that were expected to make it. This season will be no different. Some of the teams that made the playoff won’t make it this year. Who’s out?
2024 CFB Playoff Teams Who Won’t Make It Back In 2025
Oregon Ducks
Quarterback Dillon Gabriel is gone and Dante Moore is the likely starter under center for the Ducks. While Moore was highly touted as a high schooler and initially landed at UCLA, his one year at Westwood was underwhelming and he is unproven. Under any scenario, he’s a drop-off from Gabriel so expect lesser production from the most important position.
The Ducks also had a couple of close calls last season en route to an undefeated regular season and a very pedestrian opening game against Idaho winning by only 10 points. They were then exposed in their quarterfinal matchup against Ohio State in a rematch of the early season game. Regardless of the fact that Ohio State played at the top of their game throughout the playoff, the Ducks looked overmatched against the Buckeyes and were blown out in the first half.
The schedule is favorable with only road games at Penn State and at a Washington team that should continue to improve as problematic. However, it’s certainly possible Oregon will lose one we don’t expect them to.
SMU Mustangs
Kevin Jennings is back at quarterback which means the Mustangs always have a chance. After taking over as the starter a few games into last season, Jennings could have been a sleeper Heisman candidate if he had more games under his belt.
For SMU to have a shot at getting back to the playoff the defense will have to be better. We’re not sure that’s going to happen. Winning high-scoring games is not a guaranteed recipe for success from year to year.
The schedule will be challenging for the Mustangs as they try to get back to football’s version of the “big dance”. They travel to TCU who will be in a foul mood after getting destroyed by SMU last season. Road games at Clemson, Boston College in November (cold weather), and Cal are all challenging. The Mustangs will be competitive and fun to watch but not likely to get back to the playoff in 2025.
Georgia Bulldogs
Quarterback Carson Beck has taken his talents to South Beach. Or close enough as he transferred to Miami. Gunner Stockton takes over. He was decent in two performances against Texas in the conference championship and against Notre Dame in the playoff. So far he’s no Beck and Beck wasn’t nearly as good once Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers went to the NFL. The Dawgs will be as strong as ever on defense. It’s part of the culture in Athens and that’s not going to change anytime soon.
The schedule isn’t daunting or easy. An early season road game at Tennessee will be tough in the only true road game that looks difficult on paper. The Gators have a real chance at knocking the Bulldogs off this year in their annual “cocktail party” game. They also host Alabama and travel late to play unpredictable Georgia Tech. Could this be the year where Tennessee and Florida both get revenge after years of heartbreak?
Indiana Hoosiers
Head coach Curt Cignetti backed up most of his trash-talking except for in the two losses against last year’s national championship contestants. The Hoosiers will be good again and should not be viewed as a “one hit wonder “.
But we’re only talking about what going to happen this coming season. The Hoosiers are not going to sneak up on anyone after what they did last year. They return plenty of talent from last season including quarterback Kurtis Rourke and should continue to improve in the trenches which was their biggest deficiency last year.
The schedule makers did not make a return to the playoff easy. After opening with three cupcakes, Illinois invades Bloomington followed by a road game at Iowa. The Hoosiers also have road games at Oregon and at Penn State along with a potentially tricky road game at Maryland.
Even though the future is bright in Bloomington, the Hoosiers are the least likely of last year’s playoff teams to get back in 2025.
Arizona State Sun Devils
As things look now everything sets up well for the Sun Devils to get back to the playoff next season. Quarterback Sam Leavitt and super stud running back Cameron Skateboo are both back. Skateboo might have the best name in all of sports. It will be interesting to see how much he has left to give after being used a lot in his two seasons in Tempe. The defense was better than expected and there won’t be much of a drop-off in 2025.
We must not forget however that this team wasn’t that good early in the 2024 campaign. They weren’t bad early they just got better as the season went on and they got hot. Very hot. Their performance against Iowa State in the BIG 12 conference championship game was very impressive. The schedule in 2025 isn’t overly difficult either.
Home games against TCU and Texas Tech should be very entertaining. Road games against Baylor and Colorado could result in one loss even though neither of them looks particularly strong right now. A road game at Iowa State will be a major challenge as the Cyclones will be very angry when they see the Sun Devils take the field after what they did to them last year. And Utah in Salt Lake City is never easy. Similar to Indiana, the Sun Devils will have every opponent’s attention in 2025. While they are capable of getting back to the playoff in 2025, we see them slipping up a couple of times next season and falling just short of a return appearance.
And there is our prediction of the teams that made the 2024 CFB playoff who won’t make it back in 2025.
Main Image: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
