Error code: %{errorCode}
College Football Playoffs Guide: A closer look at seeds 5-8, including Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and more
The first round of the 2025 College Football Playoffs begins tonight and continues throughout the weekend, with several games streaming live and free on DAZN.
As we look forward to what promises to be four mouthwatering matchups, we break down what you need to know about each playoff team and what they’re expecting.
We began this series by looking at the #9 to #12 seeds, including the Alabama Crimson Tide, Miami Hurricanes, and more. Now, we turn our attention to the #5 to #8 seeds.
Watch weekly NCAA games for free on DAZN
DAZN is the home of NCAA football, with several games available live and on demand each week. Even better, right now, every game is free to watch on DAZN.
Watch via the free DAZN App on over 100 devices, including smart TVs, phones, tablets, streaming devices, games consoles, and laptops/PC's.
If you are a DAZN or NFL Game Pass subscriber, you already have access to watch college football. If you don't already have a DAZN account, sign up for free to get one.
Click here for more information and to sign up to watch College football for free.
#8: Oklahoma Sooners
Having won more than 950 games in their history, Oklahoma are one of the most successful and experienced teams in this year’s playoffs. Fifty conference titles, seven Heisman Trophy winners and seven-time National Champions, the Sooners have a football history to be proud of.
Dominant during their time in the Big 12, OU made the move to the SEC in 2024. Head coach Brent Venables is in his fourth year at the helm in Norman, and after a tough introduction to his new conference last season, he has the Sooners playing at a high level once again.
Facing the most daunting schedule of any team in college football this season, Venables & co. deserve credit for amassing ten wins. The recipe for this success is undoubtedly their fearsome defense, the envy of the nation, that has kept teams to 21 points or less nine times this year.
What's more, star edge rusher R Mason Thomas looks set to return from a quad injury, meaning this unit will be at full strength on Friday night.
Oklahoma’s offense lives and dies behind the arm - and legs - of quarterback John Mateer. The Sooners struggled when Mateer was injured earlier this campaign, but he has the X factor to beat almost anyone in this playoff field.
Mateer was held in check when OU faced Alabama earlier this year despite the win, and will want an improved performance against the Crimson Tide this time around.
A gameday at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is quite a scene. Known as ‘the Palace on the Prairie’, fans are treated to one of the best marching bands in college football, along with the traditional ‘Sooner Schooner’, a horse-drawn wagon pulled by ponies ‘Boomer’ and ‘Sooner’.
Despite their impressive trophy list, Oklahoma have never won a playoff game since its inception, losing all four of their appearances in the bracket. That’s one record they’ll look to consign to the history books against Bama tonight.
#7: Texas A&M Aggies
If you’re looking for the full college football experience, then there’s no better destination to head to than College Station.
Texas A&M are renowned for their unique traditions, from standing all the way through games as ‘the 12th man’, to midnight ‘yells’ the night before to prepare students for the songs to sing come gameday; if you’re one of the 102,733 people packed into Kyle Field at kickoff, you’ll never forget it.
The fervour of this support for the Aggies is renowned, and all the more respected when you consider the heartbreak A&M fans have endured over their history. Despite allocating a lot of resources to football, this team hasn’t won a national championship since 1939 - and 2025 is the first time they’ve made the modern-day playoffs.
Drama is traditionally not far away when it comes to Texas A&M. Who can forget the highs and lows of the Johnny Manziel era, someone NFL fans will no doubt be familiar with? But since the arrival of Mike Elko as head coach, things have calmed down - even becoming somewhat boring - in College Station. And the Aggies are all the better for it.
This season, A&M have been clinical. Machine-like. Efficient. Until a shock loss to rivals Texas in the final game of the regular season, they were dispatching teams with ease, despite a tough schedule that included Notre Dame alongside the usual raft of SEC teams their conference offers as opponents.
After attracting suitors, Elko signed an extension to remain in College Station, adding further stability to the program. And with talent like quarterback Marcel Reed on offense and 12-sack monster Cashius Howell on defense, this is a talented, exciting roster that can add a splash play or two when required.
Hosting Miami, Saturday’s early kickoff pits two storied programs against each other with a lot to prove. But matchup aside, tune in for the spectacle if nothing else - the atmosphere at Kyle Field will be electric.
#6: Ole Miss Rebels
‘Tumultuous’ is probably the best way to describe the end of the season for Ole Miss. The Rebels have been one of the best teams in the nation in 2025, with just a one-score loss to Georgia in Athens the only blemish on their resume. But things have taken a sour turn since their Egg Cup win over rival Mississippi State…
Lane Kiffin’s protracted exit from Oxford was, as is typical for the enigmatic head coach, dramatic. Kiffin hoped to lead Ole Miss in the playoffs before departing for LSU; that was never an option for Rebels athletic director Keith Carter. Suggestive social media posts, private jets, booing fans, players having their say - everything you’d expect from a defection to an SEC rival.
All this, of course, is a backdrop to what has been the best season in Ole Miss’ long history. The Rebels have claimed three national titles in the late 50’s & early 60’s, but have never made the playoffs in their current guise, and their #5 ranking this season is their highest in more than sixty years.
Promoting from within, defensive coordinator Pete Golding has been elevated to head coach in a permanent capacity. This gives the Rebels as much consistency as possible, given the offensive assistants who fled with Kiffin to Baton Rouge as they prepare for an assault on the playoffs.
How integral their former head coach was to this year’s success will become evident fairly quickly. The offense has been explosive ever since backup quarterback Trinidad Chambliss took the reins from the injured Austin Simmons; can Golding and interim OC Charlie Weiss Jr. keep that momentum?
Oxford, Mississippi, is one of the most picturesque destinations in college football. Rebels students take gameday seriously; men dress in formal trousers, women in dresses (weather permitting). And famous tailgating spot ‘The Grove’ is known for welcoming more than 100,000 revellers on gameday - wherever your allegiance lies.
Welcoming Tulane to ‘the Sip’ in a rematch of Week 4, the Rebels will be delighted if they can replicate the 45-10 victory they achieved over the Green Wave. If they can have a postseason to remember, Kiffin’s betrayal will be nothing but a distant memory.
#5: Oregon Ducks
Despite playing their first scheduled football game in 1894, Oregon football really didn’t become a football powerhouse until the 2000’s. The Ducks’ rise to prominence at the turn of the twenty-first century can be credited to two very different but equally important factors.
Firstly was the hire of Chip Kelly as head coach. Kelly and Oregon were a match made in heaven; a creative offensive innovator on the field and a charismatic recruiter off it. Kelly was able to lure incredible athletes to Eugene in the form of LaMichael James, De’Anthony Thomas and Marcus Mariota, and create a dynamic system for them to thrive in.
The second aspect was the Ducks’ biggest benefactor. Nike founder Phil Knight has poured literally millions of dollars into the football program over the last two decades, paying for new facilities, stadium upgrades and all the mod cons young athletes could dream of having.
If you have any doubt about the levels Oregon would go to attract talent, just take a look at the waterfall they have in the locker room. Yes, you read that right.
Kelly (and subsequently Mark Helfrich) led the Ducks to six Pac-12 titles and two national championship games, the latter being the first in the modern playoff era. Losing first to Auburn and then Ohio State, Oregon is still to realise their dream of a national title.
Since those halcyon days, the program fell back closer to mediocrity under the likes of Willie Taggart and Mario Cristobal. But since the hiring of Dan Lanning, Oregon have reestablished themselves as college football powerhouses. Lanning has won at least ten games in each of his four years at the helm so far.
The Ducks won the Big Ten last year but were immediately dumped out of the playoffs by eventual winners Ohio State. They’ll have ambitions of going further this time around, led by sophomore quarterback Dante Moore, who has been operating behind one of the best offensive lines in college football.
Outside of a close loss to #1-ranked Indiana, Oregon have looked dangerous, scoring 40 points or more in six of their games this season - including a comprehensive win over USC. Going up against unfancied James Madison in a classic night game in Autzen Stadium, they’ll fancy their chances; keep an eye out for the mischievous ‘Oregon Duck’ leading the team out on a Harley Davidson - not a sight to miss.
NFL fan too? Watch Week 16 for only 99p
DAZN's latest NFL Game Pass deal has just landed, giving you 7 days of football for just 99p!
The offer drops during one of the most exciting weeks of the season, when the Buccaneers play the Panthers, the Packers visit the Bears, and the Patriots take on the Ravens with playoff stakes looming large.
In addition to every game, live or on demand, Game Pass also provides access to RedZone, NFL Network, and DAZN’s weekly original shows, including Downs 2 Business, Kittle Things, and X's & O's coaching breakdown.
