The new 12-team College Football Playoff format, rankings and seeding, explained

Welcome to FTW Explains: A guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. The college football postseason looks a little different in 2024-25, so we’re here to simplify and break it all down.

The postseason many college football fans have been yearning for is finally coming to fruition. The College Football Playoff officially expanded from four teams to 12 starting in the 2024-25 season, and with an expansion that drastic, there are a lot of changes, rules and other things to keep track of.

That’s OK because we’re here to help. Here’s a complete breakdown of what to know about the 12-team College Football Playoff.

How many teams are in the College Football Playoff?

As we mentioned, starting in the 2024-25 season, the CFP expanded to 12 teams. Previously, it was four teams, but that small pool of national championship contenders generated a ton of controversies and debates over the years since the playoff format was adopted for the 2014-15 season. Instead of four teams playing in three total games, there are now 12 teams competing in 11 total playoff games.

Now, even with 12 teams, there will surely be debates over seeding and which teams barely missed the cut. But at least now, the playoff field offers more opportunity for more teams.

How are the College Football Playoff teams selected?

The CFP teams will be selected based off of rankings made by the College Football Playoff selection committee. Factors the committee takes into consideration include conference championships, strength of schedule, head-to-head results, common opponents and, of course, style points.

For playoff selection, the 12 teams will be the five highest-ranked conference champions, followed by the next highest-ranked teams. Among the five highest-ranked conference champions will be a Group of Five team with a guaranteed shot at playing for a national championship — a notable deviation from previous years.

When do the College Football Playoff rankings come out?

While the playoff will now feature 12 teams, the CFP selection committee will continue ranking the top-25 teams on a weekly basis starting in November.

The first CFP rankings will be announced Tuesday, November 5 from 7-8 p.m. ET on ESPN. The rest of the rankings will be announced every Tuesday until Selection Sunday on December 8.

• Tuesday, November 5, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
• Tuesday, November 12, 8:30/9 p.m. ET on ESPN
  The start time this week is approximate because of the Champions Classic college basketball games.
• Tuesday, November 19, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
• Tuesday, November 26, 8 p.m. ET on ESPN
• Tuesday, December 3, 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
• Sunday, December 8, noon ET on ESPN

Who’s on the College Football Playoff selection committee?

The CFP selection committee consists of 13 members ranging from college administrators to former athletes and coaches. For the 2024-25 season, the selection committee is:

• Warde Manuel, committee chair: Michigan athletics director
• Chris Ault: Former head coach at Nevada
• Chet Gladchuk: Navy athletics director
• Jim Grobe: Former head coach at Ohio, Wake Forest and Baylor
• Randall McDaniel: Former Arizona State player
• Gary Pinkel: Former head coach at Toledo and Missouri
• Mack Rhoades: Baylor athletics director
• Mike Riley: Former head coach at Oregon State and Nebraska
• David Sayler: Miami (Ohio) athletics director
• Will Shields: Former Nebraska player
• Kelly Whiteside: Journalist
  Full disclosure: Whiteside previously worked for USA TODAY for 14 years.
• Carla Williams: Virginia athletics director
• Hunter Yurachek: Arkansas athletics director

How does the College Football Playoff bracket and seeding work?

OK, so the CFP will be the five highest-ranked conference champs, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams. But seeding is where things get a little tricky.

The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded as No. 1 through No. 4, and those teams will get a first-round bye. If a team isn’t a conference champion but is ranked among the top four, it will be the No. 5 seed.

The fifth highest-ranked conference champ will either be seeded where it was ranked or in the No. 12 spot if it was outside the top-12 teams in the rankings.

Because of this seeding process, there’s a chance the teams ranked Nos. 1-12 won’t be seeded in that exact order. And the playoff committee won’t make any adjustments to avoid rematches from the regular season or two teams from the same conference playing each other.

Beyond the byes, the other eight teams, the No. 5 through No. 12 seeds, will face off in the first round of four games, and in each matchup, the higher seed will host the lower seed on campus or at another designated site.

How are College Football Playoff teams assigned to bowl games?

The first round of games in the expanded CFP format are more like typical college football games and will be hosted on the higher seed’s campus or at an alternative site picked by the higher seed. But bowl games come into play for the quarterfinals.

As the College Football Playoff explains:

The selection committee will assign the four highest-ranked conference champions to Playoff Quarterfinals hosted by bowls. This will be done in consideration of historic bowl relationships, then in consideration of rankings. For example, if the Sugar Bowl hosts a Playoff Quarterfinal and the SEC champion is ranked No. 1 and the Big 12 champion is ranked No. 3, the SEC champion would be assigned to the Sugar Bowl and the Big 12 champion would be assigned elsewhere.

The bowl games set for this year’s College Football Playoff quarterfinals are the Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 31), the Peach Bowl (Jan. 1), the Rose Bowl (Jan. 1) and the Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1).

The CFP semifinals will be at the Orange Bowl (Jan. 9) and the Cotton Bowl (Jan. 10).

Which College Football Playoff teams get first-round byes?

First-round byes in the expanded CFP format are reserved for the four highest-ranked conference champions, which will be seeded at Nos. 1-4. With the bigger playoff field adding more games to the season, a first-round bye is a notable advantage and additional incentive to win a conference title.

When are the College Football Playoff games?

For the 2024-25 college football season, here’s the complete CFP schedule:

College Football Playoff First Round
Friday, December 20: One game

Saturday, December 21: Three games

College Football Playoff Quarterfinals
Tuesday, December 31: Fiesta Bowl

Wednesday, January 1: Peach Bowl

Wednesday, January 1: Rose Bowl

Wednesday, January 1: Sugar Bowl

College Football Playoff Semifinals
Thursday, January 9: Orange Bowl

Friday, January 10: Cotton Bowl

College Football Playoff National Championship Game
Monday, January 20: Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta

When is the College Football Playoff National Championship Game?

The 2024-25 CFP national championship game is set for Monday, January 20, 2025 at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

The 2025-26 CFP national championship game is also scheduled for Monday, January 19, 2026 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.