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College Football Playoffs (12 Team Format)

ScriptOhio

Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.

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Members of the College Football Playoff (CFP) Board of Managers have agreed to begin the newly-expanded 12-team playoff during the 2024-2025 season.

"We're delighted to be moving forward," said Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff. "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."

The first round of the playoff in 2024 will take place the week ending Saturday, December 21, at either the home field of the higher-seeded team or at another site designated by the higher-seeded institution. (No. 12 at No. 5, No. 11 at No. 6, No. 10 at No. 7, and No. 9 at No. 8.) The specific game dates, likely late in that week, will be announced later.

For the 2024 and 2025 seasons, the four quarterfinal games and two Playoff Semifinal games will be played in bowls on a rotating basis. The 2024 quarterfinals will take place in the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, while the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl will host the Playoff Semifinals. The 2025 quarterfinals will take place in the Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl, while the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl will host the Playoff Semifinals. Specific dates for all quarterfinal and semifinal games will be announced at a later time.

The national championship games will be played January 20, 2025, in Atlanta, and January 19, 2026, in Miami.

College Football Playoff officials will introduce a 12-team playoff bracket next season, expanding from the current four-team format.

How CFP teams are selected under new format​

The new 12-team College Football Playoff field will include the six highest-ranked conference champions, which will receive automatic bids. The top four teams will receive a first-round bye to the quarterfinals.

The six highest-ranked teams remaining will round out the 12-team format.

Bowl games

CFP officials stated that the four quarterfinal games and two Playoff Semifinal games will be played in bowls on a rotating basis.

2024 quarterfinals: Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl
2024 semifinals: Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl
2025 quarterfinals: Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl
2025 semifinals: Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl

The CFP schedule for the 2024 and 2025 seasons:​

2024 CFP Schedule
GAME DATE
First round Dec. 20-21
Fiesta Bowl | Quarterfinals Dec. 31
Peach, Rose, Sugar Bowl | Quarterfinals Jan. 1
Orange Bowl | Semifinals Jan. 9
Cotton Bowl | Semifinals Jan. 10
Atlanta, GA | National Championship Jan. 20
2025 CFP Schedule
GAME DATE
First round Dec. 19-20
Cotton Bowl | Quarterfinals Dec. 31
Orange, Rose, Sugar Bowls | Quarterfinals Jan. 1
Fiesta Bowl | Semifinals Jan. 8
Peach Bowl | Semifinals Jan. 9
Miami, FL | National Championship Jan. 19
In the new 12-team CFP, the field will likely include the five highest-ranked conference champions plus the next seven highest-ranked teams, which means any team that does not win its league will need to have an impressive résumé to earn an at-large bid.

Just sayin': Anyway the top 4 teams get a 1st round bye.
 
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How do teams get into the College Football Playoff?​

First, exhale -- an undefeated Power 5 champion like Florida State will never be excluded again.

"The automatic conference champion was something that was important to the ACC, and I know it was important to other conferences, too," said ACC commissioner Jim Phillips. "That's reassuring to everybody."

The 11 presidents and chancellors who have the ultimate authority over the playoff are expected to soon approve a model that rewards the five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams. That places a renewed emphasis on the conference championship games, and it also guarantees a spot in the 12-team field for the highest-ranked Group of 5 champion -- a major change from the four-team system, in which the only guarantee for the top G5 champ was a New Year's Six bowl.

"Our leagues will have a shot," Aresco said.

The four highest-ranked conference champions will earn the top-four seeds and receive a first-round bye. The other eight teams will play in the first round, with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds either on campus or "at other sites designated by the higher-seeded institution."

That means any team that doesn't earn the luxury of a first-round bye will have to win four straight games to win the national championship. If a team lost its conference championship game, and played in four straight playoff games, it would have played an unprecedented 17 games.

(And you thought it was hard now).

Be careful not to confuse the seeding with the selection committee's ranking. The 13-member committee will still issue its weekly top 25, which will be used to determine the highest-ranked conference champs. That means, though, that if Georgia wins the SEC and is ranked No. 1 by the selection committee, and Alabama loses that game and is No. 3 in the CFP ranking -- or even No. 2! -- the Tide will be seeded No. 5 behind three other conference champs and Georgia.

(Read that again, please).

Historically, the selection committee releases six rankings, which would likely begin this year on Nov. 5, but that is expected to be determined in April at the annual CFP spring meeting. As of now, there is no minimum ranking requirement for the five highest-ranked conference champions. Any independent like Notre Dame cannot earn a first-round bye because it cannot win a conference title. That also applies to Washington State and Oregon State, which have a temporary scheduling arrangement with the Mountain West and can compete for the national championship, but aren't eligible to win the MWC and don't constitute a league of their own, per NCAA and CFP rules.

With the sheer number of Big Ten and SEC teams, there's a possibility that those leagues could fill the bulk of the field.

"We've got great depth," Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti said. "I expect us to have very strong representation in the playoff. I think our coaches expect it, our ADs expect it, our fans expect it. We're good, we're deep, and that's the best advantage."

Steinbrecher said, "if they earn it, they earn it."

"I'm a big believer you're going to earn your way into this thing," he said. "I'm not quite convinced that it will be totally that [an SEC-Big Ten majority], but we'll see how it plays out."

What's the future of conference championship games?​

Conference championship games, theoretically, should receive increased interest, given that the top five winners will earn a trip to the playoff and a first-round bye. There has been no indication from any of the commissioners that there is a desire to relinquish such a valuable property -- at least not any time soon.

"We're committed to playing a championship game," the Big Ten's Petitti said. "I think in the structure we're talking about, there's enough to still play for. It does mean something to win the Big Ten championship. Our fans really support the game and love it. We saw that this year. And the strength of it on a consistent basis is only going to improve with a no-division format. Now you're matching up two really, really strong teams."

Yormark called it "a tentpole moment" for the Big 12.

"Will that change over time? I don't know," he said. "I love our game. It creates a wonderful narrative. If you just look at this year's champ game -- highest-attended ever. Highest-gross ever, created a ton of excitement, more social media engagement than any other champ game in our history. But with the ever-changing landscape, we'll have to see what unfolds in the future."


When are the CFP games?​

First round (on-campus)
Friday, Dec. 20, 2024: One game (evening)
Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024: Three games (early afternoon, late afternoon and evening)

Quarterfinals
Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (evening)
Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl Game (late afternoon) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (evening)

Semifinals
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025: Capital One Orange Bowl (evening)
Friday, Jan. 10, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (evening)

CFP National Championship game
Monday, Jan. 20, 2025: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
 
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College football rankings 2024: 10 teams with National Championship potential coming off Signing Day

These teams put themselves in CFP contention with huge offseasons.​

National Signing Day on Wednesday put a bow on the class of 2024 and provided a clearer image of which ten teams are College Football Playoff contenders next fall. Georgia and Alabama signed the top two classes in the nation, respectively, but are trending in opposite directions after a mass exodus of talent followed Nick Saban’s departure from the Crimson Tide. Don’t give up on Kalen DeBoer’s crew just yet, though.

Other contenders like Oregon, Ohio State, Texas and LSU bolstered already talented rosters with top-10 signing classes and found their way on this list. Miami, Oklahoma, Notre Dame and Auburn also finished with top 10 classes but aren’t national championship contenders just yet, with questions still on the roster.

Ole Miss signed the No. 21 high school recruiting class in the nation but transformed itself into a contender thanks to a transfer portal masterclass. The 17-man group features top-ranked defensive lineman Walter Nolen, three top-25 overall prospects and nine players with four-star ratings or higher.

OREGON DUCKS
OLE MISS REBELS
FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
LSU TIGERS
TEXAS LONGHORNS
MICHIGAN WOLVERINES.... :lol:
ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE
GEORGIA BULLDOGS
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
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Ohio State was a clear-cut winner of the 2024 NFL Draft deadline, with a quartet of potential early-round selections announcing their decision to return next season. Denzel Burke, Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson and J.T. Tuimoloau are among those who opted to extend their stays in Columbus as the Buckeyes look to reclaim supremacy in the Big Ten. Ohio State also made several strategic portal moves by adding quarterback Will Howard and running back Quinshon Judkins. Ryan Day and Co. also signed the No. 3 recruiting class in the nation and brought UCLA head coach Chip Kelly on as offensive coordinator.

Of the 10 teams:
SEC: 5
B1G: 4
ACC: 1
BIG XII: 0
PAC-2: 0
All Others: 0

Any doubt which 2 conferences are heads above all the others? The top 5 conference winners get in the 12 team format. You have to wonder how many of the remaining 7 teams will come from the SEC and B1G? I'll say any SEC or B1G team with 2 or less losses are in; especially if they are "quality" losses (i.e. close score to a tough team).

Notre Dame got Duke QB Riley Leonard in the transfer portal and has a fairly easy schedule. There toughest opponents look to be aTm, Free Shoes and USC. They will have a good QB again this season. Probably a 2 loss ND team is in too.
 
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Maybe I missed it, and I know the committee rankings will be used so they will make sure this doesn't happen, but what if the #5 Conference Champ isn't ranked in the Top 12? Do they still get an automatic bid leaving a higher ranked team out?
 
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Maybe I missed it, and I know the committee rankings will be used so they will make sure this doesn't happen, but what if the #5 Conference Champ isn't ranked in the Top 12? Do they still get an automatic bid leaving a higher ranked team out?
So it's the 5 highest ranked conference champions are all in. They could all be ranked 16-20, but they're all in. The 6th highest ranked conference champion is SOL.
In this unlikely scenario, 16-20 would be in, and 1-7 would be in. 8-15 would all be left out.
I don't know how many teams are ranked. If it's only 20 teams, and only 4 conferences have champions in that top 20, then only 4 conferences get automatic bids. The next 8 at-large teams get in.
The con for this system is that we're pretty much guaranteed to get a team outside of the top 12 into the playoffs, and a #12 will whine like a little bitch about being left out. I hope that the #12 team was an SEC team and lots of crying happens. I'd say that I hope it's M*ch*gan, but I don't want M*ch*gan even in the rankings.
The pro for this system is that it doesn't state that the 4 conferences are better than the other conferences. I mean, we all agree that they really are better, but don't put it in the rules. The door gets kept open for the Cinderella team from the whatever conference, and if they really are better, like they claim, they can prove it on the field.
 
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So it's the 5 highest ranked conference champions are all in. They could all be ranked 16-20, but they're all in. The 6th highest ranked conference champion is SOL.
In this unlikely scenario, 16-20 would be in, and 1-7 would be in. 8-15 would all be left out.
I don't know how many teams are ranked. If it's only 20 teams, and only 4 conferences have champions in that top 20, then only 4 conferences get automatic bids. The next 8 at-large teams get in.
The con for this system is that we're pretty much guaranteed to get a team outside of the top 12 into the playoffs, and a #12 will whine like a little bitch about being left out. I hope that the #12 team was an SEC team and lots of crying happens. I'd say that I hope it's M*ch*gan, but I don't want M*ch*gan even in the rankings.
The pro for this system is that it doesn't state that the 4 conferences are better than the other conferences. I mean, we all agree that they really are better, but don't put it in the rules. The door gets kept open for the Cinderella team from the whatever conference, and if they really are better, like they claim, they can prove it on the field.
This. Also, almost all of those former Cinderella teams now reside in the Big XII.
 
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