Guide to 12-team College Football Playoff: Dates to know, details on seeding

The 2024 season ushers in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.

The college football landscape has reshifted this offseason. The Pac-12 no longer exists. Texas and Oklahoma officially joined the SEC. The Big Ten added Oregon, Washington, USC and UCLA. The Big 12 is also reshaped with the additions of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State. And the ACC has expanded to the West Coast, adding SMU, Cal and Stanford.

The ramifications of the 12-team postseason remain to be seen. But every team in the sport now has a path to the College Football Playoff, including the Group of Five. There will be seven at-large slots for teams that don’t win a conference title. No longer will the season be centered around which teams are perfect. Programs could theoretically lose two to three games and still land in the CFP.

College basketball’s March Madness is known for Cinderella stories. How frequent that becomes in the College Football Playoff era is unknown. But there will be a chance for a No. 12 seed to knock off the No. 5 seed.

With the new 12-team bracket, On3 is breaking down everything you need to know about college football’s new postseason:

Who can qualify for College Football Playoff?

The 12-team College Football Playoff welcomes new qualifications to make the postseason. The five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked, at-large teams will earn a berth in the College Football Playoff. The four conference champions ranked the highest by the College Football Playoff committee will earn the top four seeds and receive byes in the first round of the playoffs.

With conference realignment, the SEC and Big Ten are now viewed as the two superconferences in the sport. There isn’t a cap on the number of teams from a conference that can qualify. At the same time, there isn’t a guarantee for specific conferences. The ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and SEC are well-positioned to land four of the five conference championship slots. The Group of Five – American Athletic, C-USA, Mid-American, Mountain West and Sun Belt – will likely all joust for the final slot for the automatic qualifiers.

For example, last year Liberty would have landed in the No. 12 slot in the CFP despite being ranked No. 23.

Notre Dame, however, does not play in a conference. The Fighting Irish will not land a top-four seed or bye since they are independent. Notre Dame will host first-round games in South Bend if they land a 5-8 seed.

Washington State and Oregon State don’t have their own league anymore, despite a scheduling partnership with the Mountain West. According to NCAA and College Football Playoff rules, they can compete in the postseason but cannot secure a bye.

The College Football Playoff selection committee also announced it will no longer use conference championships as a tiebreaker because the new format guarantees bids for the five highest-ranked conference champions.

What is College Football Playoff selection committee?

The CFP field is selected and ranked by a 13-member selection committee that meets weekly over the final six weeks of the season. Committee members serve three-year terms and recuse themselves if their teams are discussed during deliberations.

The committee consists of:

• Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel (committee chair)*
• Former Nevada coach Chris Ault*
• Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk*
• Former Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe*
• Miami (Ohio) athletic director David Sayler*
• Former USA Today sportswriter Kelly Whiteside*
• Former All-American Nebraska lineman Will Shields
• Former Toledo and Missouri coach Gary Pinkel*
• Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades*
• Virginia athletic director Carla Williams*
• Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek*
• Former Oregon State and Nebraska coach Mike Riley*
• Former Arizona State All-American guard Randall McDaniel

* Recused committee member

What teams make bowl games?

The traditional New Year’s Six bowl games are still in the College Football Playoff. According to the CFP, for quarterfinal games, the committee will assign the four highest-ranked conference champions to bowls when the bracket is set.

Similar to the four-team playoff, the top-ranked seed will have preferential treatment. The Rose Bowl has proposed to the CFP that it keep its time and date — 5 p.m. ET, Jan. 1 — in future playoffs. The game could become a permanent quarterfinal.

When are rankings released?

The College Football Playoff committee will not modify rankings to avoid rematches between teams. For example, Michigan and Ohio State. There will also not be re-seeding after the bracket is set.

DATE	TIME
Tuesday, Nov. 5	7 – 8 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Nov. 12	9 – 9:30 p.m. ET (State Farm Champions Classic)
Tuesday, Nov. 19	7 – 8 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Nov. 26	8 – 9 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Dec. 3	7 – 7:30 p.m. ET
Sunday, Dec. 8	Noon – 4 p.m. ET (Final Rankings)

When are College Football Playoff games?

The first-round games will be played on campuses, with the first game of the 12-team College Football Playoff era set for Friday, Dec. 20. Three games will be played on Saturday, Dec. 21 in the early afternoon, late afternoon and evening.

The quarterfinals will be played at neutral sites. The Vrbo Fiesta Bowl is slated on Tuesday, Dec. 31, followed by the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl Game and Allstate Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.

The College Football Playoff semifinals are scheduled for two different days. The Capital One Orange Bowl will be on Jan. 9 followed by the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Jan. 10. The College Football Playoff national championship trophy will be handed out on Monday, Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Here’s the full schedule:

First Round

Friday, Dec. 20

Saturday, Dec. 21

Quarterfinals

Tuesday, Dec. 31: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl

Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl Game and Allstate Sugar Bowl

Semifinals

Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025: Capital One Orange Bowl

Friday, Jan. 10, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

College Football Playoff National Championship

Monday, Jan. 20, 2025: Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta