College football’s 12-team playoff:
College football is entering a brave new era in terms of its national championship.
No longer will champions be determined by polls, bowl coalitions or alliances or the BCS. Nor will the College Football Playoff be available to only four teams in a given season (considered a much-needed improvement no doubt)
The Playoff will join the vast majority of the organized sports world by providing more inclusive entry into the college football postseason, tripling the number of current teams from four to 12 and providing four rounds of play as opposed to two.
A broader Playoff naturally lends itself to change the current system, however. How will the current New Year’s Day 6 bowls fit into the new 12-team format? Which teams are granted entry into the Playoff, and how are they ranked? Perhaps most importantly, when will those changes go into effect? I’m glad you asked!
12-team College Football Playoff start date
The new College Football Playoff format will officially begin in the 2024 and 2025 seasons, amending the end of the Playoff’s existing contract with ESPN as the exclusive broadcaster of the college football postseason, following an agreement from the Rose Bowl and according to ESPN.
The expansion was originally going to start in 2026 after the current deal with the College Football Playoff, but with the Rose Bowl’s agreement, it can now happen earlier. The College Football Playoff officially confirmed the 2024-25 timeline for the expansion on Thursday.
“We’re delighted to be moving forward,” Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff, said per the release. “When the board expanded the playoff beginning in 2026 and asked the CFP Management Committee to examine the feasibility of starting the new format earlier, the Management Committee went right to work.
“More teams and more access mean more excitement for fans, alumni, students and student-athletes. We appreciate the leaders of the six bowl games and the two future national championship game host cities for their cooperation. Everyone realized that this change is in the best interest of college football and pulled together to make it happen.”
College Football Playoff dates
The College Football Playoff on Tuesday, May 2 released dates for each round of the expanded playoff, starting with the 2024 season.
Based off information released, it the Fiesta, Peach, Cotton and Orange bowls will rotate among the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, respectively. In 2024, the Fiesta and Peach will be played during the quarterfinals, while the Orange and Cotton will be played in the semifinals. In 2025, those games will be reversed.
Of note: The Rose and Sugar bowls will both be played during the quarterfinal round in 2024 and 2025, taking place on their traditional date of New Year’s Day.
Below is a breakdown of each round of the playoff, starting with on-campus meetings through the quarterfinals, semifinals and CFP national championship (times to be determined):
2024
First round (on-campus games)
- Friday, Dec. 20 (one game)
- Saturday, Dec. 21 (three games)
Quarterfinals
- Tuesday, Dec. 31 (Fiesta Bowl)
- Wednesday, Jan. 1 (Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl)
Semifinals
- Thursday, Jan. 9 (Orange Bowl)
- Friday, Jan. 10 (Cotton Bowl)
Championship
- Monday, Jan. 20 (CFP national championship)
2025
First round (one-campus games)
- Friday, Dec. 19 (one game)
- Saturday, Dec. 20 (three games)
Quarterfinals
- Wednesday, Dec. 31 (Cotton Bowl)
- Thursday, Jan. 1 (Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl)
Semifinals
- Thursday, Jan. 8 (Fiesta Bowl)
- Friday, Jan. 9 (Beach Bowl)
Championship
- Monday, Jan. 19 (CFP national championship)
How will a 12-team College Football Playoff work?
The 12-team format will feature, in order, the top four conference champions, followed by some combination of the top six at-large bids and two highest-ranked remaining conference champions. Teams will be ordered based on the College Football Playoff rankings.
That guarantees at least one “Group of 5” team will make the Playoff each year and, while it’s unlikely, allows the possibility of more than one G5 team making the Playoff in lieu of a “Power 5” team.
Of note: The approved format means independent FBS teams such as Notre Dame — and, less likely, Army, UConn and UMass — will never be among the top four teams, as they are not affiliated with any conference. Hence, they cannot win a conference championship. This also means no independent team will ever have a bye in the Playoff.
The top four teams will have a bye as seeds 5-8 host home playoff games vs. seeds 9-12. Following those games, the remaining eight teams will play each other in the current New Year’s Day 6 bowls (Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Cotton and Peach). Those bowls will rotate among the quarterfinal and semifinal games on an annual basis.
The No. 1 team will then choose where it wants to play its opponent in the quarterfinals. Following that, the No. 2 team will pick its venue, followed by the No. 3 team. The No. 4 team will play in the final bowl available in the quarterfinals by default.
Following the quarterfinals, the highest-ranked team heading into the semifinals will pick its bowl of choice; the other two teams will play in the last remaining bowl of the Playoff by default.
The CFP championship game will continue to be played at a neutral site.
12-team College Football Playoff bracket
Below is what the first and quarterfinal rounds of the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket will look like:
First round
- No. 1 team (bye)
- No. 2 team (bye)
- No. 3 team (bye)
- No. 4 team (bye)
- No. 12 team at No. 5 team
- No. 11 team at No. 6 team
- No. 10 team at No. 7 team
- No. 9 team at No. 8 team
Quarterfinals
- No. 1 team vs. No. 8/9 team
- No. 2 team vs. No. 7/10 team
- No. 3 team vs. No. 6/11 team
- No. 4 team vs. No. 5/12 team
Following that, the remaining four teams will play in the semifinal games, with the highest-ranked team picking its preferred bowl venue. The winners of the semifinal games will advance to the College Football Playoff championship game to determine that season’s national title winner.
What would a 12-team College Football Playoff look like?
| Seed | Team | How they made it |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia | SEC champion |
| 2 | Michigan | Big Ten champion |
| 3 | TCU | Big 12 champion |
| 4 | USC | Pac-12 champion |
| 5 | Ohio State | At-large (Big Ten) |
| 6 | Alabama | At-large (SEC) |
| 7 | Tennessee | At-large (SEC) |
| 8 | Penn State | At-large (Big Ten) |
| 9 | Clemson | ACC champion |
| 10 | Kansas State | At-large (Big 12) |
| 11 | Utah | At-large (Pac-12) |
| 12 | Tulane | AAC champion |
The top four seeds would consist of:
- No. 1 Georgia
- No. 2 Michigan
- No. 3 TCU
- No. 4 USC
The first round would consist of the following games:
- No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 Ohio State
- No. 11 Utah at No. 6 Alabama
- No. 10 Kansas State at No. 7 Tennessee
- No. 9 Clemson at No. 8 Penn State
The quarterfinals would consist of the following games before the Playoff advanced to the semifinals and national championship game:
- No. 1 Georgia vs. Penn State/Clemson
- No. 2 Michigan vs. Tennessee/Kansas State
- No. 3 TCU vs. Alabama/Utah
- No. 4 USC vs. Ohio State/Tulane
History of the College Football Playoff
| Year | Games |
|---|---|
| 2014 | Sugar Bowl: No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 1 Alabama 35 |
| Rose Bowl: No. 2 Oregon 59, No. 3 Florida State 20 | |
| Championship: No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 2 Oregon 20 | |
| 2015 | Orange Bowl: No. 1 Clemson 37, No. 4 Oklahoma 17 |
| Cotton Bowl: No. 2 Alabama 39, No. 3 Michigan State 0 | |
| Championship: No. 2 Alabama 45, No. 1 Clemson 40 | |
| 2016 | Peach Bowl: No. 1 Alabama 24, No. 4 Washington 7 |
| Fiesta Bowl: No. 2 Clemson 31, No. 3 Ohio State 0 | |
| Championship: No. 2 Clemson 35, No. 1 Alabama 31 | |
| 2017 | Sugar Bowl: No. 4 Alabama 24, No. 1 Clemson 6 |
| Rose Bowl: No. 3 Georgia 54, No. 2 Oklahoma 48 (2OT) | |
| Championship: No. 2 Alabama 26, No. 3 Georgia 23 (OT) | |
| 2018 | Orange Bowl: No. 1 Alabama 45, No. 4 Oklahoma 34 |
| Cotton Bowl: No. 2 Clemson 30, No. 3 Notre Dame 3 | |
| Championship: No. 2 Clemson 44, No. 1 Alabama 16 | |
| 2019 | Peach Bowl: No. 1 LSU 63, No. 4 Oklahoma 28 |
| Fiesta Bowl: No. 3 Clemson 29, No. 2 Ohio State 23 | |
| Championship: No. 1 LSU 42, No. 3 Clemson 25 | |
| 2020 | Rose Bowl: No. 1 Alabama 31, No. 4 Notre Dame 14 |
| Sugar Bowl: No. 3 Ohio State 49, No. 2 Clemson 28 | |
| Championship: No. 1 Alabama 52, No. 3 Ohio State 24 | |
| 2021 | Cotton Bowl: No. 1 Alabama 24, No. 4 Cincinnati 6 |
| Orange Bowl: No. 3 Georgia 34, No. 2 Michigan 11 | |
| Championship: No. 3 Georgia 33, No. 1 Alabama 18 |
