2024–25 College Football Playoff

2024–25 College Football Playoff
Season2024
Semifinals
Championship

The 2024–25 College Football Playoff is an upcoming single-elimination bracket invitational tournament to determine the national champion of the 2024 NCAA Division I FBS football season.[1][2] It will be the eleventh edition of the College Football Playoff (CFP) and will involve twelve teams as ranked by the College Football Playoff poll.

The 2024–25 playoff will be the first to use a twelve-team bracket; the previous 10 iterations of the College Football Playoff contained only four teams.[1][2] The five highest-ranked conference champions including one from the Group of Five conferences will be selected to compete, along with the top seven at-large teams. Furthermore, the top four conference champions will receive a first-round bye in the playoff.[2][3]

The playoff bracket's first round games will be held on December 20 and 21 at respective campus sites. In the quarterfinals, scheduled for December 31 and January 1, 2025 at the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, and Sugar Bowl, the top four seeds will play the lowest remaining seeds in the bracket. The winners of those games will advance to the Playoff semifinals, held at the Cotton Bowl Classic and Orange Bowl, scheduled for January 9 and 10. The winners of those games will play in the College Football Playoff National Championship on January 20, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Games

The first round will feature the fifth highest ranked conference champion and seven at large bids seeded based on their CFP ranking at the end of the regular season. The winners advance to face the four highest ranked conference champions in the quarterfinals.

Schedule

All times are Eastern Time • Schedule source[4]

Round Date Time Matchup Bowl game Location TV
First round December 20 8:00 p.m. — Campus site to be determined ABC/ESPN
December 21 12:00 p.m. Campus site to be determined TNT
4:00 p.m. Campus site to be determined
8:00 p.m. Campus site to be determined ABC/ESPN
Quarterfinals December 31 7:30 p.m. Fiesta Bowl State Farm Stadium • Glendale, Arizona ESPN
January 1 1:00 p.m. Peach Bowl Mercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia
5:00 p.m. Rose Bowl Rose Bowl • Pasadena, California
8:45 p.m. Sugar Bowl Caesars Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana
Semifinals January 9 7:30 p.m. Orange Bowl Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, Florida
January 10 7:30 p.m. Cotton Bowl Classic AT&T Stadium • Arlington, Texas
Championship January 20 7:30 p.m. National Championship Mercedes-Benz Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia

Bracket

First round
December 20-21
at higher seed campus sites		Quarterfinals
December 31 (Fiesta) and
January 1 (Peach, Rose, and Sugar)		Semifinals
January 9 (Orange) and
January 10 (Cotton)		Championship
January 20
1Highest ranked conference champion 
8    
   
9  
  
44th highest ranked conference champion 
January 20 – Atlanta
5    
   
12  
   
22nd highest ranked conference champion 
7    
   
10  
  
33rd highest ranked conference champion 
6    
11  
Projected College Football Playoff bracket based on week 9 rankings[5]
First roundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsChampionship
Neyland Stadium, Knoxville1Oregon 
8Tennessee   
   
9Indiana 
  
Ohio Stadium, Columbus4BYU 
January 20 – Atlanta
5Ohio State   
   
12Boise State 
   
Beaver Stadium, State College2Georgia 
7Penn State   
   
10Notre Dame 
  
DKR–Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin3Miami (FL) 
6Texas   
11Alabama 

Selection and teams

The 2024–25 CFP selection committee is as follows:

2024-25 College Football Playoff Selection Committee
Member[6] Position Conference affiliation[a]
Warde Manuel (chair) Michigan athletic director Big Ten
Chris Ault Former Nevada head coach and athletic director Mountain West
Chet Gladchuk Jr. Navy athletic director American
Jim Grobe Former head coach (Wake Forest, Baylor, and Ohio) —
Randall McDaniel Former guard (Arizona State, Minnesota Vikings, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers) —
Gary Pinkel Former head coach (Toledo and Missouri) —
Mack Rhoades Baylor athletic director Big 12
Mike Riley Former head coach (Oregon State and Nebraska) -
David Sayler Miami (OH) athletic director MAC
Will Shields Former guard (Nebraska and Kansas City Chiefs) —
Kelly Whiteside Former USA Today college football reporter —
Carla Williams Virginia athletic director ACC
Hunter Yurachek Arkansas athletic director SEC

Rankings

The first CFP rankings of the season were released on November 5.[7][5]

2024 College Football Playoff rankings top fifteen progression
No. Week 9 Week 10 Week 11 Week 12 Week 13 Final
1 Oregon (9–0)
2 Ohio State (7–1)
3 Georgia (7–1)
4 Miami (FL) (9–0)
5 Texas (7–1)
6 Penn State (7–1)
7 Tennessee (7–1)
8 Indiana (9–0)
9 BYU (8–0)
10 Notre Dame (7–1)
11 Alabama (6–2)
12 Boise State (7–1)
13 SMU (8–1)
14 Texas A&M (7–2)
15 LSU (6–2)
Key
Teams in boldface are leading their conference at time of rankings release
The cutoff line represents the threshold of the top 12 teams as ranked by the CFP poll.


Notes

  1. ^ Current or former, athletic department administration only, during committee term.

References

  1. ^ a b Santaromita, Dan (January 8, 2024). "Georgia, Alabama open as favorites to win 2025 CFP title". The Athletic. Retrieved January 9, 2024. the competition to get in the top four this season didn't allow much room for error. That won't be the case next year with the 12-team playoff field debuting.
  2. ^ a b c Sallee, Barrett (January 9, 2024). "College Football Playoff bracket, predictions: Early picks as format expands to 12 teams in 2024 season". CBS Sports. Retrieved January 9, 2024. An early look ahead at who could make history as the first programs included in a 12-team playoff field
  3. ^ "5-7 format confirmed for 12-team playoff". College Football Playoff. February 20, 2024. Retrieved November 5, 2024.
  4. ^ "College Football Playoff Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "FIRST 2024 College Football Playoff Rankings REVEALED (ESPN College Football)". ESPN. November 5, 2024. Retrieved November 5, 2024 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "Year-by-year CFP selection committee membership". College Football Playoff. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  7. ^ Giannotto, Mark (November 2, 2024). "When are College Football Playoff rankings released? What to know". USA Today. Retrieved November 3, 2024.