Ohio State took down Notre Dame to win the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff and claim the school’s first national championship since 2014, but now it’s time to get an early look ahead to the 2025 college football season and what teams are in contention right now.

The first 12-team Playoff had a lot of great moments. It could also use some tweaks. In the short term, leaders are unlikely to make major changes to the format for the 2025 season. The bigger stuff is more likely to come in 2026, when the new contracts kick in and the SEC and Big Ten basically get to do whatever they want.

"First, Ohio State (No. 1 on [Mark] Schlabach's list) is obviously in despite a challenging 2025 schedule (No. 2 Texas and No. 3 Penn State at home, No. 13 Illinois and No. 21 Michigan on the road) and the requisite loss to the Wolverines," Connelly noted. "The Buckeyes will go 2-1 against the other headliners and advance at 10-2."

It's never too early to look ahead to next season's College Football Playoff despite the Ohio State Buckeyes capturing the National Championship just weeks ago.

NFL Draft declaration deadline is in the rearview mirror, which means the crop of prospects for April's event is set. A total of 71 college players will forgo their remaining eligibility and test the professional waters.

Here's a look at how many national championships Ohio State football has won heading into the Buckeyes' CFP title game matchup with Notre Dame:

We’re already thinking ahead to all the possibilities of the 2025 college football season. After Stewart Mandel published his initial Top 25 last Tuesday, led by Penn State at No. 1, we’re back with a survey of 31 college football writers and editors at The Athletic for their early national championship,

ESPN has college football's national title staying in the Big Ten next season. Michigan and Ohio State have given the conference back-to-back national champions. ESPN's Bill Connelly predicted a new winner emerging from the Big Ten.

In or out? A verdict on which of the College Football Playoff qualifiers will be back in the bracket next season.