This is how the College Football Playoff works

The College Football Playoff era began with the 2014 season. In the first decade, four teams were selected to the playoffs, with two semifinal games and one national championship game. Starting with the 2024-25 season, here is the new, expanded format you should know:

• 12 teams will be selected for the playoff field, with the top five ranked conference champions receiving automatic bids
• The four top-ranked conference champions will be seeded 1-4 and will each receive a first-round bye
• The teams seeded 5th through 12th will play each other in the first round on the home field of the higher ranked team

The quarterfinals and semifinals alternate between six bowls: Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach, Rose and Sugar. Both semifinals will be played around the New Year’s holiday, with the national title game taking place at least a week later on a Monday night. The 2024-25 CFP schedule is below.

2024-25 College Football Playoff schedule

Always east

• First round (December 20-21)
  • Friday, December 20th: 8 p.m. | ABC/ESPN
  • Saturday, December 21st: 12 p.m. | TNT
  • Saturday, December 21st: 4 p.m. | TNT
  • Saturday, December 21st: 8 p.m. | ABC/ESPN
• Quarterfinals (December 31st – January 1st)
  • Fiesta Bowl: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 31st | ESPN
  • Peach peel: 1 p.m. Wednesday, January 1st | ESPN
  • Rose bowl: 5 p.m. Wednesday, January 1st | ESPN
  • Sugar bowl: 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, January 1st | ESPN
• Semi-finals (January 9-10)
  • Orange peel: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, January 9th | ESPN
  • Cotton cup: 7:30 p.m. Friday, January 10 | ESPN
• CFP National Championship
  • 7:30 p.m. Monday, January 20 | ESPN
  • Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia

A committee of university presidents approved a plan for a new 12-team College Football Playoff. In 2024, the College Football Playoff Board of Directors agreed to update the start of the 12-team CFP field beginning in the 2024-25 season to include a 5-7 format.

Here’s what you need to know about the postseason format put together by the commissioners of the 11 major college football conferences and Notre Dame’s athletic director.

Who votes on the College Football Playoff rankings?

The CFP Selection Committee has 13 members. It is a collection of people with experience as coaches, players, college administrators, athletic directors and journalists. Here are the members.

How often are the rankings announced?

Selection committee members meet weekly to create rankings. The committee’s rankings will be announced on ESPN.

What will the committee use to rank teams?

From the CFP website: “The Selection Committee ranks teams based on members’ evaluation of the teams’ on-field performance, using conference championships won, strength of schedule, head-to-head results and a comparison of results to common opponents .” to decide between teams that are comparable.”

How does the voting process work?

According to the CFP website, it begins like this: “Each committee member makes a list of the 30 teams they believe are the best in the country, in no particular order. Teams listed by three or more members will remain below.” At the end of each round, additional teams may be added to the group of teams under consideration by a vote of three or more members. You can read the individual steps here.

Where and when are the games played?

According to the CFP, “The College Football Playoff semifinal games alternate between the Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl Game, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl.”

Click here to take a look at the past, current and future CFP schedules.