CFB Playoff Format
By #returnofthemccarthy
On Tuesday some exciting details about the College Football Playoffs were announced, beginning in the 2024 season. The 12-team playoff will consist of the six highest-ranked conference champions and the six highest-ranked “at-large” teams as chosen by the CFP selection committee. The top four conference champions will be seeded 1 through 4 and receive byes. The remaining 8 teams will play 1st round games that will take place on campus of the higher-seeded team.
The quarterfinal and semifinal matchups will be played at the neutral site “New Year’s 6” bowl games. The Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl will be used for the quarters, taking place on New Year’s Eve and New Years Day (a Tuesday and Wednesday). With the Semi finals being the Orange and Cotton Bowls on Thursday, Jan 9, 2025, and Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. These two games are being scheduled on Thursday and Friday, as to not interfere with the NFLs Wild Card Weekend, that’s slated for Jan 11th and 12.
The CFP Title Game will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Monday, January 20, 2025. Exact kickoff times will be announced at later dates, CFP said. The arrangements for broadcasting these games have yet to be finalized yet, though ESPN owns the rights for the final two years of the CFPs original 12-year contract.
Once that contract expires, this whole landscape could change, including additional television partners, or even moving the quarterfinal games to on-campus sites as well. There could also be an overall adjustment to when the college football season starts so that the playoffs won’t run so deep into January causing conflicts with the NFL playoffs. One thing for sure, we are finally going to get a true formatted tournament to crown the NCAA Division 1 Football National Champion. Something that has been needed since before the BCS days.
If the 12-team College Football Playoff had started last season this is what it would have looked like:
- Georgia (SEC Champion)
- Michigan (Big Ten Champion)
- Clemson (ACC Champion)
- Utah (Pac-12 Champion)
- TCU (At-Large)
- Ohio State (At-Large)
- Alabama (At-Large)
- Tennessee (At-Large)
- Kansas State (Big 12 Champ)
- USC (At-Large)
- Penn State (At-Large)
- Tulane (Highest-Rank Group of Five Conference Champion)
Based on that seeding, the first-round matchups would have been entertaining to say the least.
- No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 TCU
- No. 11 Penn State at No. 6 Ohio State
- No. 10 USC at No. 7 Alabama
- No. 9 Kansas State at No. 8 Tennessee
The quarterfinals would have fallen like this.
- Sugar Bowl: No. 1 Georgia vs Kansas State/Tennessee Winner
- Rose Bowl: No. 2 Michigan vs USC/Alabama Winner
- Peach Bowl: No. 3 Clemson vs. Penn State/Ohio State Winner
- Fiesta Bowl: No. 4 Utah vs. Tulane/TCU Winner
Personally, this is a step in the right direction for the College Football world, and it’s long overdue.
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