The great debate is long over. Alabama and Miami are in the College Football Playoff and Notre Dame is not. The tears are dry, and people will soon have to accept that two Group of 5 teams are in the field.

Everyone has a different rationale for why they’re rooting for a certain team this postseason. You might be jumping into college football just now and looking for a team. You might have gotten attached to one of the season’s feel-good stories, such as the Indiana Hoosiers. You might despise Lane Kiffin, who left Ole Miss for LSU before the field was announced. You might be a Notre Dame fan who wants to see Alabama and Miami fail.

If you’re an undecided fan still looking for someone to root for over the next month, let us help you out. Here’s The Athletic’s bandwagon guide to the 2025 College Football Playoff, ranked from least to most deserving teams.

12. Ohio State (12-1)

Why you should get on board: It takes true greatness to win back-to-back national championships, especially in this era of college football. So if you want to jump on this bandwagon, you can chase history.

Why you shouldn’t: OK. That’s done. Come on. The Buckeyes won the national championship just last season.

Bottom line: Ohio State has looked like the best team in the country for most of the season, with the lone exception coming in the Big Ten Championship Game against Indiana. Even though the Buckeyes lost that game, they’re still the favorite to win the national championship, per BetMGM. The Playoff was supposed to add some semblance of randomness to the sport, but we may be getting back-to-back national championships in the first two years of the new format.

11. Georgia (12-1, SEC champion)

Why you should get on board: You’re tired of the Big Ten winning the national championship, and the Bulldogs are the best shot for the SEC to reclaim superiority.

Why you shouldn’t: The shine on those 2021 and 2022 national championship trophies is still pretty bright.

Bottom line: This didn’t look like a vintage Georgia team in September or October, but the defense has been great over the last month; the Bulldogs have allowed 10 points or fewer in their last four games. It’s also kind of fun to watch quarterback Gunner Stockton rise to the occasion in high-profile games. Can he do it against an elite defense such as Ohio State’s in a potential semifinal matchup — and then again, should the Bulldogs reach the national championship game?

One reason to root for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs? End the Big Ten’s two-year run at winning the national title. (Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)

10. Alabama (10-3)

Why you should get on board: You care for Kalen DeBoer’s physical and emotional well-being and don’t want to see what the Crimson Tide fan base would do to a coach who either went two years without winning a Playoff game or won a Playoff game then lost to Indiana.

Why you shouldn’t: Even though Nick Saban is gone, we’re not too far removed from Alabama dominating the sport. It’s OK if this program experiences some struggles or suffers through a mini-drought.

Bottom line: This Alabama team is in the Playoff, but it’s not built like those Saban-era teams. The passing game, a strength earlier in the year, hasn’t been great of late, and while the defense is good, it doesn’t strike fear into you like those peak-Saban units. If you get behind this team, just know the running game — or, more specifically, the lack of a running game — could lead you down a path of heartbreak early in the Playoff.

9. Oklahoma (10-2)

Why you should get on board: It’s been 25 years since the Sooners last won a national championship. Yes, they played in several title games since, but more than enough time has passed that it’s fine if they win one now.

Why you shouldn’t: The defense is amazing and has won games for Oklahoma, but the offensive struggles are bad enough that this team is not fun to watch.

Bottom line: Quarterback John Mateer looked great until he suffered a broken thumb on his throwing hand against Auburn, and, understandably, he hasn’t looked the same since. And there’s no real run game to take pressure off Mateer. There’s a reason Oklahoma is the underdog against Alabama, even though the game is in Norman. Whoever wins that game will be a considerable underdog against Indiana.

8. Miami (10-2)

Why you should get on board: You just watched “The U” 30 for 30 and are feeling the nostalgia, yearning for the Hurricanes to get back on top again.

Why you shouldn’t: You don’t want the ACC’s incompetence to be rewarded.

Bottom line: In every discussion about Miami making a long Playoff run, you have to account for Mario Cristobal having to navigate several games against programs with a similar talent level and elite coaching. Those games will likely be close and come down to in-game decision-making, which hasn’t been Cristobal’s strong suit over the years. The Hurricanes have enough talent to make noise this postseason, but Cristobal is a wild card.

7. Texas A&M (11-1)

Why you should get on board: You love watching someone drop the baggage of past failures and start living up to their potential.

Why you shouldn’t: Do we know how good the Aggies truly are? Yes, they beat Notre Dame, which was a massive win. But the SEC schedule included wins over four programs that fired their head coach, plus wins over bad Mississippi State and South Carolina teams and a Missouri squad that was on its third-string quarterback. The only team Texas A&M faced with a winning conference record (Texas) beat the Aggies.

Bottom line: Texas A&M handled its business in the regular season, so kudos to the Aggies, but they still feel like a bit of an unknown as the Playoff starts. Are they elite or a product of their schedule? You could potentially jump on the bandwagon, only for Texas A&M to revert to past form and disappoint. So keep your guard up.

6. Oregon (11-1)

Why you should get on board: I wrote this last year and will repeat it this time around: The Ducks will win a national championship one of these years. It’ll be more honorable to jump on the bandwagon before they do so.

Why you shouldn’t: Oregon faced some really good defenses over the last two months. It beat Washington, escaped Iowa with a win thanks to a last-second field goal and lost to Indiana. After the first-round game against James Madison, the Ducks would need to get past three straight elite defenses — starting with Texas Tech in the quarterfinals — to win the title.

Bottom line: This felt like it was going to be something of a reset year for Oregon after it lost so many pieces from last season’s Big Ten-title team, but the Ducks are in a good position to make a run. This is a team with young pieces, so just know that even if this year doesn’t end with a national championship, promising years are ahead.

5. Tulane (11-2, American champion)

Why you should get on board: The Green Wave went 12-0 in 1998 and then had just five winning seasons from that point through 2021. Over the past four seasons, Tulane has become one of the best Group of 5 programs in the country, and this seems like a good time to ride the wave.

Why you shouldn’t: You’re a proud Florida Gator who wants coach Jon Sumrall to be able to focus on one job instead of two.

Bottom line: Can the Green Wave be competitive against Ole Miss if everything breaks right? Sure, but we’ve seen this movie before, and the Rebels won 45-10 back in September. While it may be fun to hop on a Group of 5 bandwagon, just know it’ll very likely be a short-lived ride.

4. Texas Tech (12-1, Big 12 champion)

Why you should get on board: You have embraced the new era in which student-athletes are being compensated for what someone is willing to pay them.

Why you shouldn’t: You’re a traditionalist who isn’t too fond of the “new money” programs like the Red Raiders and Oregon, who have spent their way to prominence. You are still clinging to the old model — when players would get paid, just under the table.

Bottom line: Sure, the Red Raiders spent a lot to improve their roster, but they did it well, and their play has justified the approach. This season, the best in school history, has raised the profile of the program, and it’s not inconceivable to envision Texas Tech in the national championship game. It’s time for everyone to understand that the sport has changed, so don’t hate a program that has embraced the new model — even if its success comes at the expense of your favorite program.

3. James Madison (12-1, Sun Belt champion)

Why you should get on board: The Group of 5 disrespect has gone a little too far in recent weeks. We get it, two G5 teams in the field is not everyone’s cup of tea, but James Madison did nothing wrong. It’s not the Dukes’ fault that Duke won the ACC.

Why you shouldn’t: Because Oregon will win this game without much of an issue.

Bottom line: Like Tulane, this will probably be a one-round ride. But it’s worth it to support the G5 and combat everyone crying about a potential blowout. It’s not like there weren’t lopsided games and routs last year or in the four-team Playoff era or the BCS national championship games. Every playoff game in the NFL doesn’t come down to the wire either.

2. Ole Miss (11-1)

Why you should get on board: If Kiffin has positioned himself as one of the preeminent villains in the sport, what does that make Ole Miss? It’s not difficult to get behind a program that was publicly told it wasn’t good enough by its head coach and got left behind right before the biggest game(s) in school history.

Why you shouldn’t: Pete Golding might prove to be a good head coach in the future, but this is his first time in the role. Growing pains will happen, and having those happen during the Playoff is a very risky situation.

Bottom line: Ole Miss is a really good team, but probably a tier below the elites in the sport this season. The Rebels could make a deep run if everything breaks right, but the defense will need to make a jump during the postseason. It would be quite entertaining to see Ole Miss win a title without Kiffin. So this is a bandwagon worthy of jumping on.

1. Indiana (13-0, Big  Ten champion)

Why you should get on board: Curt Cignetti turned one of the most prolific losers in the sport’s history into the Big Ten champions and No. 1 seed in the Playoff in his second season on the job. Say this to yourself out loud for good measure: The Hoosiers are the No. 1 team in the country. It’s the sort of turnaround and breakthrough that we rarely see in this sport — but Indiana has proven it’s real all season.

Why you shouldn’t: The reason we don’t see these sorts of breakthroughs in college football is that there is always a big bad blue-blood waiting to stomp out any newcomers, and Indiana will have to navigate a talented bracket en route to winning a title.

Bottom line: It would be a mistake to view Indiana as an underdog. The Hoosiers beat Oregon in Autzen Stadium. They beat Ohio State and looked like they belonged on the same field every second of that game. Indiana might be No. 1 on the bandwagon guide, but it’s far from a “little engine that could” story. The Hoosiers are just as talented and as physical, if not more so, than every other team in the country. They’re extremely well-coached, too. All of that shows up when watching them and makes IU an easy team to root for this postseason.