Well, the first game of the 2025-2026 College Football Playoff was a bit, uh, odd. Quirky? Streaky? I’m struggling to figure out how to describe it. The game started with the Oklahoma Sooners scoring 17 straight points while Alabama’s offense floundered. The Crimson Tide responded by scoring 17 unanswered of their own to end the first half.
In the second half, Alabama continued to build on its lead and ended up outsourcing Oklahoma 17-7 in the final 30 minutes of the game (in large part because the Sooners happened to just completely crumble in huge moments).
After a bizarre ending that featured back-to-back missed field goals from the Sooners (who had previously been absolutely thriving on special teams all season long), Alabama came away with a 34-24 road win to get the CFP started.
And how does that impact the College Football Playoff as a whole? What does that mean for Texas Tech?
College Football Playoff bracket: What's next after Alabama beat Oklahoma?
Here’s what the bracket looks like now with Alabama getting the road win over the Sooners:
An updated look at the CFP bracket after Alabama beat Oklahoma
— The Underdog Tribune (@UnderdogTribune) December 20, 2025
(not important side note: I appreciate the way they display who won/lost on this, it's pleasant to look at)https://t.co/koMDbYJQew pic.twitter.com/qfXlRzjITk
Again, Oklahoma is out and the Sooners won’t be moving on. Now, Alabama gets the chance to advance on to face off against the Indiana Hoosiers (the top seeded team in this whole deal) in the Rose Bowl in the CFP quarterfinals on January 1, 2026 at 3 p.m.
The Crimson Tide and the Hoosiers will face off in the third game of the quarterfinals (and the second game of the day on New Year’s Day). Texas Tech will get the pleasure of playing the first game of the new year (and the second game of the quarterfinal round) as the Red Raiders face off against the winner between James Madison and Oregon.
The winner between Texas Tech’s quarterfinal matchup and the Rose Bowl between Alabama and Indiana will meet up in the College Football Playoff semifinals in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl.