'College GameDay' CFP picks: Who Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, Alex Caruso have in first round
- - 'College GameDay' CFP picks: Who Pat McAfee, Nick Saban, Alex Caruso have in first round
Ehsan Kassim, USA TODAYDecember 21, 2025 at 2:01 AM
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A day college football fans have been waiting for has arrived: a triple-header of first-round College Football Playoff games.
Leading the triple-header will be a matchup between No. 10 Miami and No. 7 Texas A&M. The Aggies had just one regular-season loss, while the Hurricanes had two and surprised many with their inclusion in the playoff over Notre Dame.
REQUIRED READING: Texas A&M vs Miami football live updates: CFP start time, TV channel
Yes, the first-round matchup between No. 11 Tulane and No. 6 Ole Miss is a rematch from the regular season. Ole Miss handily defeated Tulane 45-10 on Sept. 20. However, Rebels' coach Lane Kiffin is no longer with the team, while Tulane coach Jon Sumrall is coaching his team until the end of the playoff before heading to Florida.
So many will be pulling for No. 12 James Madison against No. 5 Oregon in the finale of the triple header. The Dukes just snuck into the CFP field as the Sun Belt champion, with an assist from 5-loss Duke winning the ACC. Meanwhile, Oregon will look to bounce back from being one-and-done last season in the playoffs.
How will the favorites fare with home-field advantage? On Friday, Dec. 19, in the first CFP first-round game, No. 9 pulled off an upset of No. 8 Oklahoma, erasing an early 17-0 deficit to advance to the quarterfinal.
As is usual, the ESPN "College GameDay" crew will make their picks for all the CFP games today ahead of kickoff between the Hurricanes and Aggies. Here's a look at how "College GameDay" picked each of the CFP games in the first round:
No. 10 Miami vs No. 7 Texas A&M -
Desmond Howard: Miami
Nick Saban: Miami
Pat McAfee: Texas A&M
Kirk Herbstreit: Texas A&M
Alex Caruso (guest picker): Texas A&M
No. 11 Tulane vs No. 6 Ole Miss -
Desmond Howard: Ole Miss
Pat McAfee: Ole Miss
Nick Saban: Ole Miss
Kirk Herbstreit: Ole Miss
Alex Caruso (guest picker): Tulane
No. 12 James Madison vs No. 5 Oregon -
Desmond Howard: Oregon
Pat McAfee: Oregon
Nick Saban: Oregon
Kirk Herbstreit: Oregon
Alex Caruso (guest picker): Oregon
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'College GameDay' picks for CFP first-round games
Source: “AOL Sports”
