With a new college football season comes a significant change in how the playoffs will be formatted.
Previously, the college football playoffs only consisted of four teams per season. However, they’ve decided this season to expand that number to 12.
The top five conference champions will automatically get a spot. Within those, the top four will be given a bi-week in the first round. The other seven will be the highest-ranked teams outside of those.
The teams with the higher seeding will host the first round of the playoffs. The matchups will be No. 5 vs. No. 12, No. 6 vs. No. 11, No. 7 vs. No. 10 and No. 8 vs No. 9.
College football’s famous bowl games will also be included in the new format change. They will be played in the quarterfinals and semifinals, rotating yearly.
For example, this season, the quarterfinal games will be the Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The semifinals will be the Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl.
At the end of the 2025 season, the quarterfinals will be the Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl. The semifinals will be the Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl.
This season’s college football playoffs will kick off Dec. 20-21. The quarterfinals will be played on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The semifinals will take place Jan. 9-10. Finally, the National Championship game in Atlanta, GA, will be on Jan. 20.
Photo courtesy of AU Athletics 2024.
