The 2024-25 college football season is officially over, so it's time to start looking ahead to next season. After the first 12-team playoff, we have a good idea of the types of teams that can receive bids.

For the most part, as long as a team finishes with no more than two losses and has a strong strength of schedule, it should end up in the postseason. Teams that win their conference title games are obviously guaranteed first-round byes, as well.

In 2025, there are a number of contenders that look like they'll vie for a playoff spot. Some of these teams made the 12-team field last season, whereas others will be looking to earn bids for the first time.

Let's take a look at which 2025 playoff contenders appear to have easier schedules than others. Key factors include the number of anticipated Top 25 matchups, home/road splits and home-field advantage.

Author's Note: The Big 12 schedules are not completely set yet, so we'll be going just off of home and away opponents for those teams.

ACC and Big 12 Contenders

As we noted in the intro, the actual dates of these games for the Big 12 have yet to be released. The ACC released its full schedule on Monday evening.

Miami Hurricanes

Mario Cristobal is hoping another transfer portal quarterback—this time Carson Beck—can bring his team to the playoff in 2025.

Miami's 2025 schedule features two of its toughest games at home, opening on Aug. 31 against a reloading Notre Dame and against Florida on Sept. 20. The Canes' conference road games come against Florida State, SMU, Pitt Virginia Tech.

Miami should be favored in all but one of those, with the SMU game looking like it'll be the closest out of the four. Otherwise, Miami has home conference games against Louisville, Stanford, Syracuse and NC State.

Clemson Tigers

Dabo Swinney and Clemson will be looking to make it back to the playoff once again in 2025. Although the Aug. 30 opener against LSU will be tough, Clemson gets that one at home. Clemson also gets Syracuse, Duke, Florida State, and SMU at Memorial Stadium.

The road trips include games at Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Boston College, Louisville and South Carolina. Cade Klubnik and the Tigers returning to the playoff in 2025 seems quite likely, even if Clemson doesn't make the ACC title game.

Iowa State Cyclones

The Big 12's full schedule will be released on Jan. 31. The Cyclones will look to win the Big 12 in 2025. Iowa State opens in Week Zero in Dublin, Ireland, against Kansas State, whom the Cyclones have beaten two seasons in a row.

Iowa State's home conference games feature Arizona, Arizona State, BYU and Kansas. The road games come at Cincinnati, Colorado, Oklahoma State and TCU. With Iowa State getting quarterback Rocco Becht back, returning to Arlington in 2025 shouldn't be an issue.

Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State is returning a ton of talent in 2025, including quarterback Drew Allar, star running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton, and star defenders Dani Dennis-Sutton and Zane Durant. Not to mention PSU just hired defensive coordinator Jim Knowles away from Ohio State, making him the highest-paid defensive coordinator in the country.

And looking at Penn State's schedule makes a repeat playoff run look even likelier. The Nittany Lions' out-of-conference schedule features Nevada, FIU and Villanova. Penn State gets some of its biggest conference games at home, including vs. Oregon on Sept. 27, and vs. Indiana on Nov. 17. Penn State should be heavily favored in the rest of its home conference games against Northwestern and Nebraska.

The Nittany Lions have to go on the road to play UCLA, Iowa, Ohio State, Michigan State and Rutgers. Obviously the Ohio State game looks like the toughest, but Penn State has a bye before that one, and the Nittany Lions look to have an early advantage over the rebuilding Buckeyes. One loss to OSU won't knock Penn State out of it, either.

Don't be surprised if Penn State cruises to the Big Ten title game come December.

Oregon Ducks

Although Oregon looked like the favorite to win it all last season, Ohio State altered the landscape dramatically with a runaway win in the Rose Bowl quarterfinal. As head coach Dan Lanning reloads with a new quarterback in 2025—it looks like it'll be Dante Moore—having a navigable schedule next year should help.

The Ducks' non-conference opponents include Montana State, Oklahoma State and Oregon State, all of those being home games. Oregon's home conference games come against Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and USC. The Ducks should be favored in all those, except maybe the Indiana one.

As for Oregon's road trips, there are a couple of big ones, but the Ducks could likely lose one or two of them and still be in the hunt for a playoff bid. The biggest is the Sept. 27 game at Penn State. Even with a loss there, Oregon could be OK. The Ducks' remaining road trips come against Rutgers, Iowa and Washington.

Even with a loss to Penn State, Oregon should be in line for a playoff bid in 2025, assuming it doesn't majorly stumble elsewhere.

Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia made it back into the playoff last season after winning the SEC but fell flat against Notre Dame in the quarterfinal. But as long as Kirby Smart is in Athens, expect the Dawgs to be in the mix for the playoff each and every season.

The Dawgs' out-of-conference schedule features Marshall, Austin Peay and Charlotte. Its rivalry week game against Georgia Tech will be played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta instead of Bobby Dodd this year.

Georgia's home conference slate features Alabama, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Texas—getting the Tide, Rebels and Longhorns all at home is huge for Georgia. The Dawgs do have to go on the road to play Tennessee on Sept. 13 but should be favored in the rest of their SEC road games against Auburn and Mississippi State. Georgia will look to win its fifth straight against Florida in Jacksonville on Nov. 1, but that should be a close rivalry matchup.

Even with a loss to Tennessee, finishing with one or two losses and a trip to the SEC title game absolutely looks in the cards for Georgia for 2025.

Michigan Wolverines

Michigan didn't make it to the playoff under first-year head coach Sherrone Moore, but it was still a successful season in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines beat Ohio State for a fourth straight season and upset Alabama in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

But Moore and Michigan will undoubtedly be looking to make it back into the playoff in 2025. The Wolverines open with New Mexico State at home on Aug. 30 then go on the road to face Oklahoma on Sept. 6, which should be an interesting matchup. The Wolverines round out their non-conference schedule with a home game vs. Central Michigan—which should be dubbed the Connor Stallions Bowl—on Sept. 13.

But even if Michigan falls on the road to quarterback John Mateer and the Sooners, the Wolverines should be in good shape. Michigan's home conference games include Wisconsin, Washington, Purdue and Ohio State.

Michigan goes on the road to play Nebraska, USC, Michigan State, Northwestern and Maryland. None of those teams were particularly in the mix for the Big Ten last year and look to be off the radar for 2025, as well.

Michigan getting Ohio State at home is huge. If the Wolverines beat Ohio State for a fifth straight time and close out their season with just one or two losses, the Wolverines could be right back in the mix for a Big Ten title and/or a playoff bid.

Ole Miss Rebels

Lane Kiffin's talented 2024 team entered the season with playoff aspirations but ended up on the outside of the 12-team field after three bad losses to Kentucky, LSU and Florida.

As Ole Miss reloads in 2025 with the No. 2 transfer portal class in the nation, it'll also benefit from a pretty manageable schedule. The Rebels' non-conference opponents are Georgia State, Tulane, Washington State and The Citadel, with all of the games being held in Oxford.

Ole Miss' home SEC slate features Arkansas, LSU, South Carolina and Florida. Obviously the Tigers, Gamecocks and Gators look solid heading into 2025, but Ole Miss hosting those teams is huge.

The Rebels' road SEC slate includes Kentucky, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Mississippi State. Ole Miss beat Georgia last season, so who knows how that one might go. Even with a loss to Georgia and another against either LSU, South Carolina or Florida, a two-loss Ole Miss team could still earn a bid.