Teams with a first-round bye are 1-7 in their playoff opener

Source: 12-team College Football Playoff, 2024 and 2025 seasons. Ranks are CFP seeds.

The only bye team to win its first game was #1 Indiana, which beat #9 Alabama 38-3 on Jan. 1, 2026.

In 2024, the byes went to the four highest-ranked conference champions. That's how Boise State and Arizona State were seeded #3 and #4 after the committee ranked them #9 and #12. Since 2025, the four highest-ranked teams get the byes.

Quick stats

Teams with a first-round bye are 1-7 in their playoff opener.
These teams waited 25.5 days on average to play. Their opponents waited 11.6.
In the first quarter of those games, these teams scored just 3 points, combined. Their opponents scored 51.

Data for chart

Season	Bye team (seed)	Days off	Opponent days off	Last game before the playoff	Playoff opener	Opponent's last game
2024	#1 Oregon	25	11	Dec. 7 vs Penn State	Jan. 1 vs #8 Ohio StateL, Oregon 21, Ohio State 41	Dec. 21: Ohio State vs Tennessee
2024	#2 Georgia	26	13	Dec. 7 vs Texas	Jan. 2 vs #7 Notre DameL, Georgia 10, Notre Dame 23	Dec. 20: Notre Dame vs Indiana
2024	#3 Boise State	25	10	Dec. 6 vs UNLV	Dec. 31 vs #6 Penn StateL, Boise State 14, Penn State 31	Dec. 21: Penn State vs SMU
2024	#4 Arizona State	25	11	Dec. 7 vs Iowa State	Jan. 1 vs #5 TexasL, Arizona State 31, Texas 39	Dec. 21: Texas vs Clemson
2025	#2 Ohio State	25	11	Dec. 6 vs Indiana	Dec. 31 vs #10 MiamiL, Ohio State 14, Miami 24	Dec. 20: Miami vs Texas A&M
2025	#3 Georgia	26	12	Dec. 6 vs Alabama	Jan. 1 vs #6 Ole MissL, Georgia 34, Ole Miss 39	Dec. 20: Ole Miss vs Tulane
2025	#4 Texas Tech	26	12	Dec. 6 vs BYU	Jan. 1 vs #5 OregonL, Texas Tech 0, Oregon 23	Dec. 20: Oregon vs James Madison
2025	#1 Indiana	26	13	Dec. 6 vs Ohio State	Jan. 1 vs #9 AlabamaW, Indiana 38, Alabama 3	Dec. 19: Alabama vs Oklahoma
Average		25.5	11.6

Every game links to its ESPN box score. Days are counted between game dates, U.S. Eastern time. Seeds are College Football Playoff seeds.