College Football Playoff Expansion: New 12-Team Format, Explained

The College Football Playoff is about to get a whole lot more exciting. The College Football Playoff expansion to 12 teams for the 2024-25 season (and beyond) brings more high-stakes games during both the regular season and Playoffs.

This change is long overdue, after years of debate and notable snubs by the College Football Playoff committee. Finally, the College Football Playoff is for the people.

With a broader field, the playoff promises to make this the best college football season yet. Below, we’ll dive into everything you need to know about the College Football Playoff expansion.

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How Many Teams Make the College Football Playoff 2024-25?

The College Football Playoff is moving from a four-team format to 12 teams in 2024-25 and beyond. This means more high stakes games, more opportunities for underdogs, and, of course, added revenue for college football and its teams.

The College Football Playoff change to 12-team comes after years of snubs — including last year’s Georgia snub in favor of Florida State. With more teams included, it will add a layer of excitement and inclusivity across the sport. 

Never has every college football game mattered more than it will in 2024.

What Teams Make the College Football Playoff in 2024?

The College Football Playoff will consist of the five highest-ranked conference champions and the next seven highest-ranked teams. The rankings will be decided by a 13-person selection committee, same as years prior.

There is no restriction on the number of teams from one conference, and the new rules don’t guarantee spots for any certain conferences, although it’s very likely that the Power Four conference champions (SEC, Big 10, Big 12, ACC) will be included in the Playoffs every year.

How Does the College Football Playoff Work?

For example, in 2023, the field would have consisted of Michigan (Big 10), Washington (Pac-12), Texas (Big 12), Alabama (SEC), Florida State (ACC), Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, Missouri, Penn State, Ole Miss, and Oklahoma, as ranked by the CFP committee.

The 12-team Playoff does open up new opportunities for standout teams outside of the now-Power Four conferences to have a path to the Championship, especially with the dismantling of the Pac-12. For example, under the new conference alignment, No. 23 Liberty would have made the College Football Playoff in 2023.

The conference champions stipulations could also shake things up should we see any conference championship upsets.

College Football Playoff Expansion Bracket

The new College Football Playoff bracket is simple, especially if you watched NFL prior to the switch to the 14-team playoff. Essentially, the four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded No. 1-4 and receive a first-round bye. Seeds 5-12 will play each other in the first round, with the higher seeded teams playing host.

• No. 5 vs No. 12 (Winner plays No. 4)
• No. 6 vs No. 11 (Winner plays No. 3)
• No. 7 vs No. 10 (Winner plays No. 2)
• No. 8 vs No. 9 (Winner plays No. 1)

See how the 2024-25 College Football Playoff Bracket looks below, via collegefootballplayoff.com.

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What Will The 2024-2025 College Football Playoff Bracket Look Like?

We don’t have the College Football Playoff rankings until November, but we can base this year’s bracket on the Preseason AP Top 25. Here’s how the top four seeds (with a bye) and first-round games would look based on these rankings.

• No. 1 - Georgia (SEC champions)
• No. 2 - Ohio State (Big 10 champions)
• No. 3 - Florida State (ACC champions)
• No. 4 - Utah (Big 12 champions)
• No. 5 - Oregon (No. 2 in Big 10) vs No. 12 - Boise State (Mountain West champions)
• No. 6 - Texas (No. 2 in SEC) vs No. 11 - Missouri (No. 5 in SEC)
• No. 7 - Alabama (No. 3 in SEC) vs No. 10 - Penn State (No. 3 in Big 10)
• No. 8 - Ole Miss (No. 4 in SEC) vs No. 9 - Notre Dame (Independent)

Note that Boise State is the fifth conference champion in this scenario, although they are ranked outside of the AP Top 25. It’s likely we’ll see one huge underdog make the College Football Playoff from one of the following conferences: AAC (Tulane and UTSA received AP Top 25 votes), Conference USA (Liberty was 13-0 last season), or the Mountain West. 

The fifth conference champion to make the Playoff will likely come down to the best win in out-of-conference play, which makes the beginning of the season that much more interesting.

New College Football Playoff Schedule for 2024-25

The first round will be played at the home stadium of the higher-seeded team on December 20 and 21 (Friday and Saturday). The four College Football Playoff Quarterfinals and two Semifinal games will be played as the New Year’s Six bowl games on a rotating basis. 

Here’s how the College Football Playoff schedule looks for 2024-2025.

• 4x First Round games — Dec. 20-21
• Fiesta Bowl (Quarterfinals) — Tuesday, December 31, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. ET
• Peach, Rose, Sugar Bowl (Quarterfinals) — Wednesday, January 1, 2025 at 1 p.m., 5 p.m., and 8:45 p.m. ET
• Orange Bowl (Semifinals) — Thursday, January 9, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. ET
• Cotton Bowl (Semifinals) — Friday, January 10, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. ET
• National Championship (Atlanta, GA) — Monday, January 20, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. ET

More CFB Playoff Games, More High Stakes CFB

What was previously just the New Year’s Six Bowl games and the National Championship will be expanded into more high-stakes games and more action to end the college football season.

Now, all of the New Year’s Six games will have added importance, as winning means your team is one step closer to winning the National Championship. For fans, it means more opportunities to engage with thrilling cross-conference matchups and more opportunities for underdogs to make deep runs. 

With more on the line during this bowl season, the drama and excitement we usually get from college football will be taken to new heights. 

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