Not every College Football Playoff run is created equal. Some teams have to claw their way through brutal schedules, dodging top-10 matchups week after week just to get a shot. But then, there are a few lucky programs that… well, let’s just say the path is a little smoother.
The teams we’re about to talk about? They’ve got it made.
That’s not to say they aren’t talented — they are. In fact, they’d all be Playoff contenders no matter what. But when you look at how their 2025 schedules stack up, it’s clear they’ve been dealt a very favorable hand. Short of a complete meltdown, it’s hard to see these teams not being in the thick of the CFP picture when the time comes. Basically, it’d take a disaster for them to miss it.
Let’s take a look at the teams with the easiest rides to the College Football Playoff this season.
Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State has scheduled three automatic wins to start the season with Nevada, FIU, and Villanova. They will then get a bye week — as if it's needed after that stretch — before hosting Oregon. That essentially means they get an entire month to prepare for Oregon and work out the kinks on their team before their Big Ten run begins.
Though at UCLA and at Iowa aren't easy games, but they're certainly manageable, meaning that Penn State should be 7-0 or at worst 6-1 heading into November. They get a bye before going on the road against Ohio State and then they'll close out the season win Indiana, at Michigan State, Nebraska, and at Rutgers. Could an upset happen along the way? Sure. But, this feels like a schedule that has Penn State set up to be 11-1 and, at worst 10-2.
If the Nittany Lions are 10-2 — regardless of if they win the Big Ten or not — they're getting into the playoff. So, you might as well go ahead and count them in the College Football Playoff.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame gets a nice draw with its five ACC games, with the only one that will give them any trouble coming at the beginning when they travel to Miami, which will still be breaking in a new defensive scheme and Carson Beck at quarterback.
They get Texas A&M and Boise State at home, but there's a decent chance that the Fighting Irish may not face a ranked team outside of the month of September, and they may not face more than two — Texas A&M and Miami to start the season — for the entire year.
Even presumably with a freshman in CJ Carr taking over at quarterback, Notre Dame has a very favorable path to the CFP, assuming they can simply split those first two, and if they win both, the Fighting Irish may be the country's best chance at going a perfect 12-0, even with the experience they're having to replace.
Oregon Ducks
Just like Notre Dame, there's a solid chance that Oregon will not face more than 2-3 ranked opponents in 2025. As a matter of fact, there's a chance that the Ducks will only play one ranked team the entire season.
Oregon will have the road game against Penn State, which will be a tough out. Even if the Ducks lose that one, though, they're set up to run the table the rest of the way. They have a bye week after Penn State and then they'll play Indiana, at Rutgers, Wisconsin, at Iowa, Minnesota, USC, and at Washington. Could Indiana, USC, Iowa, or Washington provide a little bit of a test for them? Absolutely. But, the Ducks will be heavily-favored in all those matchups, regardless.
At this point, we'd only point to Indiana as a ranked team heading into 2025 — and there's a chance that Iowa or USC could sneak in — so to say that Oregon got a favorable draw would be an understatement.