The first installment of the 12 Team Playoff is in the books, what was good, what was bad, and what needs to be changed going forward.

The Big 12 released its 2025 football schedule Tuesday, setting the stage for another season of back-and-forth battles in a conference that delivered thrills on a weekly basis in 2024. When Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark banged the podium to proclaim his conference the most competitive in the country at media days last July,

The first 12-team College Football Playoff finished on Monday night with Ohio State beating Notre Dame 34-23 in Atlanta, Ga. The new 12-team playoff was a massive success, although the expanded field allows for more mulligans for every team and perhaps reduces the importance of some games.

ESPN kept it simple by picking all of the home teams in the first round. Basically, until proven otherwise, home field advantage is a real thing in the first round of the 12-team playoff. By the way, Michigan beating Ohio State, essentially, back to back weeks in Ann Arbor? The scenes!

Ohio State came out on top in the national championship on Monday, outlasting a late Notre Dame comeback push to win 34-23. The game brought an end to the first edition of the expanded College Football Playoff, which features 12 teams vying for the title instead of four.