The NCAA College Football Playoffs kicks off with the first-round games on Friday, December 20, and Saturday, December 21st, with the excitement culminating in the CFP National Championship on January 20, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
Find out everything you need to know about this year’s NCAA football postseason, including the new CFP 12-team format and the full CFP schedule.
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What is Different About This Year’s College Football Playoffs (CFP)?
The 2024 College Football Playoff (CFP) is shaking things up, moving away from the traditional, four-team format to an expanded 12-team format. The NCAA decided to implement this change in the 2024 season to create a more competitive and inclusive postseason, as more teams will have the opportunity to vie for the national title.
How Does the 12-Team Playoff Format Work?
Expanding the postseason pool of teams means more games to watch, much to the excitement of CFB fans. Here’s a breakdown on what to expect of the upcoming CFP format.
Team Selection and Seeding
The final 12 teams of the CFB season will be determined using two different methods:
- Automatic Bids: The five highest-ranked conference champions receive automatic bids. Only teams that play in conferences with eight or more teams are eligible for this kind of automatic bid.
- At-Large Bids: The seven highest-ranked remaining teams, regardless of conference affiliation, are granted at-large bids.
When it comes to seeding, the four highest-ranked conference champions (automatic bid recipients) are seeded 1 through 4 and receive first-round byes. The remaining seeds are assigned based on the remaining teams’ rankings. Seeding is fixed and will not change round to round.
Playoff Game Structure
The new 12-team playoff field means more games for you to watch, but what does that look like, round-by-round? Here’s a look at this year’s college football playoffs bracket structure.
CFP First Round:
As mentioned above, the top four automatic qualifiers receive a first-round bye, so there will only be four matchups in the first round of play. Those games will be hosted at the higher seed’s field, or a neutral site of their choosing. Those will be:
- No. 12 at No. 5
- No. 11 at No. 6
- No. 10 at No. 7
- No. 9 at No. 8
Quarterfinals and Semifinals:
The winners of each first round game will then be put up against the top four teams for the quarterfinals, and the winners of those games will move on to the semifinals.
The quarterfinal matchups are hosted by the New Year’s Six bowls. This year, CFP games will be played at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 31), Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl (Jan. 1), Rose Bowl Game Presented by Prudential (Jan. 1) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1).
As for the semifinals, these take place January 9-10 at the Capital One Orange Bowl (Jan. 9) and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (Jan. 10).
National Championship:
Finally, the last two teams standing compete in the CFB National Championship on Monday, January 20th at the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The game will air live on ESPN starting at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Which Teams are Competing in 2024-25 CFP?
We won’t know which 12 teams are competing in this year’s college football playoffs until Selection Sunday, which is set for December 8th. We will update this post with the latest information as it is announced.
According to the experts, however, you’ll likely be seeing a few of the following teams on the CFP field. Here are the latest CFP rankings as of November 26th:
- Oregon (11-0)
- Ohio State (9-1)
- Texas (9-1
- Penn State (9-1)
- Indiana (10-0)
- Notre Dame (9-1)
- Alabama (8-2)
- Miami (9-1)
- Mississippi (8-2)
- Georgia (8-2)
College Football Playoffs Game Schedule
And now, take a look at the full game schedule so you know where and when to tune in to get the most exciting college football action of the season.
CFP First-Round Games
- Fri, Dec. 20 @ 8 p.m. ET (Watch on ABC/ESPN)
- Sat, Dec. 21 @ 12 p.m. ET (Watch on TNT)
- Sat, Dec. 21 @ 4 p.m. ET (Watch on TNT)
- Sat, Dec. 21 @ 8 p.m. ET (Watch on ABC/ESPN)
CFP Quarterfinal Games
- Fiesta Bowl: Tues, Dec. 31 @ 7:30 p.m. ET (Watch on ESPN)
- Peach Bowl: Wed, Jan. 1 @ 1 p.m. ET (Watch on ESPN)
- Rose Bowl: Wed, Jan. 1 @ 5 p.m. ET (Watch on ESPN)
- Sugar Bowl: Wed, Jan. 1 @ 8:45 p.m. ET (Watch on ESPN)
CFP Semifinal Games
- Orange Bowl: Thurs, Jan. 9 @ 7:30 p.m. ET (Watch on ESPN)
- Cotton Bowl: Fri, Jan. 10 @ 7:30 p.m. ET (Watch on ESPN)
CFP National Championship
- Mon, Jan. 20 @ 7:30 p.m. ET (Watch on ESPN)
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the new CFP format?
Starting in the 2024-25 season, the College Football Playoffs is expanding from a four-team format to a 12-team format.
When is the 2024-25 College Football Playoffs?
The NCAA College Football Playoffs kicks off with the first-round games on Friday, December 20, and Saturday, December 21st, with the excitement culminating in the CFP National Championship on January 20, 2025.
Where can I watch CFP games?
ESPN
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