12) JAMES MADISON DUKES (12-1)

Not only did James Madison make their first CFP in program history in their 4-year existence in the FBS, but they also became the first team to qualify as the 2nd Group of Five team for the CFP (yes, that should be put on the record). 2nd year starting quarterback Alonza Barnett III and JMU’s defense played a major part in their big season run. While Barnett III was mostly responsible for the team’s success, Wayne Knight also had a hand in their run with 1263 rushing yards this season, and quarterback Matt Sluka backing up Barnett while he was still recovering from last season’s injury. While this roster doesn’t have the flashes like other offenses do, they’re not afraid to take on anyone headfirst.

This season was a big opportunity that JMU needed to take advantage. Their only tough opponent was Louisville, which they kept up with until the fourth quarter. They survived at Georgia State and escaped Washington State with victories. Besides them, they took care of everyone else, including Troy in the conference championship. Against Power 4 opponents, JMU’s 2-1 all-time since joining the FBS. Now, they’re up against their toughest opponent yet and hopefully their team is ready for the biggest challenge of their season.

11) TULANE GREEN WAVE (11-2)

After losing quarterback Darian Mensah to Duke in the transfer portal, they were nearly turned to Brendan Sullivan (Northwestern transfer). Then in comes BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff. After being forced to transfer before facing potential suspension from his former school, he had a couple of months to get to know the team and learn the playbook. Once he won the job in minimal time and took the field, he never looked back and took Tulane on a rousing run. Tulane also lost Mahki Hughes to Oregon, which probably led to Retzlaff running a few yards more than he did last season with BYU. Still, the program showed they were still formidable and will do whatever it takes to win no matter what or how they do it.

Despite losing to UTSA in AAC play, their mission was knocking out Memphis for leverage in the AAC. They did that and more. They also needed their defense to play about as well as they could to stay optimistic about an AAC title and a potential CFP. The sacks, interceptions, and their positive double-digit turnover margin kept their defense relevant enough to be better than most AAC opponents. Whoever they face in the first round, not only does their defense must be on their A-game, but their offense must play clean football and level up their production if they want an upset.

10) MIAMI HURRICANES (10-2)

Miami failed to make the postseason the last couple of seasons due to failing to finish in November. This season felt nearly the same after a loss against Louisville and SMU in a span of 3 weeks. However, urgency took over and they closed out the rest of the month in November. This roster felt more talented than last year’s thanks to the defense being immensely improved. Miami offense has been stellar for 2 straight seasons, but they desperately needed their defense to back them for competitive reasons. Their defense played poorly with a surprising average of 25.3 points allowed last season, but they flipped the script with an uber talented and experienced defense allowing 13.8 points per game. Having dudes like Reuben Bain Jr. lead this group makes Miami feel like they can compete with anyone in the CFP.

This used to be the old cliche for Miami: they start out hot before going cold by November. What started out as a hot run after defeating Notre Dame, USF, Florida, and Florida State, turned into a near trainwreck against Louisville at home and SMU in the first week of November. It almost turned out that way again, but they were reluctant to see SMU, Georgia Tech, and even Virginia in the conference championship all fall in the Canes’ favor. There wasn’t much dropoff from this roster, but the two losses were heavily on Carson Beck for his interceptions and mistakes. Otherwise, Miami would’ve been amongst the Top 5 for how well they have played this season. Miami might be the lowest ranked Power 4 team in the CFP, but they could gain millions and millions of eyes if they come out humming in the first round. They started out the season at home and want to end the season the same way: at home with a Natty win.

9) ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (10-3)

What looked like another crashout for Alabama and Bama fans everywhere after an embarrassing loss to Georgia in the SEC title game, turned into a massive relief in Tuscaloosa after qualifying for their first 12-team playoff. It was unexpecting with their 2025 season performance. With so much ugliness amongst the backend of the Top 25 rankings and a loss by BYU and Notre Dame losing in a tiebreaker to Miami in a head-to-head matchup, Bama may have received the biggest break again since 2023. They enter the CFP with plenty of questions, injuries, and slight doubt lingering amongst fans and Tuscaloosa, so we’re really going to find out who Alabama is. They’re also the first 3-loss team to qualify for an expanded CFP format.

With how consistently talented Alabama usually is as a football team, this wasn’t the case this season. Here’s the irony; Alabama’s defense didn’t get better or worse based on their scoring defense allowing 17.4 points per game in back-to-back seasons. When I said they didn’t get better or worse, their SEC scoring defense tells the story. They allowed 20.1 ppg, about 1.6 points better than last season. Their problem is their run defense played poorly this season, and it can become a problem in postseason play. If you can’t stop the run, it’s hard to win when opposing offenses control the field. On offense, they took a slight step back. A lot of the offense’s production comes from quarterback Ty Simpson. Outside of him, who’s been the second most consistent player? That’s the biggest question because receiver Ryan Williams has been somewhat radio silent with production. Their run game that used to be the strength of this program for a couple of decades has declined the past few seasons, including this one and must have a solution before their first-round matchup. Could it be running back Daniel Hill’s time to shine? Will Alabama have an answer to some of their issues? They have a few weeks to figure that out.