How the 12-team College Football Playoff will work: Teams, schedule, bids

The College Football Playoff will introduce a 12-team playoff bracket for the 2024-25 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 five highest-ranked conference champions, which will receive automatic bids. The seven highest-ranked teams remaining will round out the 12-team format. 

The top four teams will receive a first-round bye to the quarterfinals.

📊 UNDEFEATED TRACKER: Here’s a look at every undefeated FBS team

Where CFP games will be played

As mentioned before, the four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded Nos. 1-4 and receive a first-round bye. Seeds 5-12 will play each other in the first round. The higher-seeded teams will play host in their first round games. Here’s a breakdown of the first round matchups:

• No. 5 vs. No. 12
• No. 6 vs. No. 11
• No. 7 vs. No. 10
• No. 8 vs. No. 9

New Year’s Six bowl games will be introduced in the quarterfinal round. The semifinals will be played in bowls on a rotating basis while the national championship host site is determined through bids by prospective host sites.

Here’s what the 12-team field would’ve looked like in 2023-24

On Sunday, Dec. 3, the CFP Selection Committee released the final set of rankings for the 2023-24 season. Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama comprised the top 4 that’ll compete in the College Football Playoff in the final year before the expanded format is introduced. Utilizing the respective rankings, let’s project what the 12-team bracket would look like for the 2023-24 season.

Here are the final CFP rankings of 2023-24:
Released: Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023

First round

As stated in the official announcement by the CFP, the first rounds would take place at either the home field of the higher-seeded team or another site designated by the higher-seeded program during the week of Saturday, Dec. 21.

Although specific game dates have not yet been announced, we can make predictions on how each matchup will appear. Keep in mind that the No. 12 seed will go to Liberty, as the Flames are the sixth highest-ranked conference champion in the final CFP rankings, replacing Oklahoma — a team that finished third in the Big 12 — as the No. 12 team. 

No. 12 Liberty at No. 5 Florida State
No. 11 Ole Miss at No. 6 Georgia
No. 10 Penn State at No. 7 Ohio State
No. 9 Missouri at No. 8 Oregon

🔮 FUTURE: How the first College Football Playoff rankings predict the semifinals

With the top-four seeded teams receiving bye weeks, the winner of each team listed above would move on to face teams No. 1 through 4. Teams will not be reseeded. This means that the top-ranked team would proceed to face the winner of the No. 9 and No. 8 matchup.

Bowl games

CFP officials stated that the four quarterfinal games and two Playoff Semifinal games will be played in New Year’s Six 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:

Tap here to learn more about the 12-team CFP expansion for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.