How does 12-team playoff work? Explaining format of expanded CFP

College football will see plenty of changes in 2024 — and chief among them is the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams after 10 years in a four-team model.
The new CFP allows for eight more teams to have a shot at winning a national championship following conference championship weekend, as the old format saw only the four highest-ranked teams at the end of the season compete in two semifinal games.
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The format for how teams are seeded in the 12-team playoff, as well as where they play, is also different than in past years. Here’s an explanation of how the new 12-team CFP works ahead of the 2024 season:
The new CFP format will feature 12 teams for the first time in college football history. Prior to that, the playoff allowed four teams in, from its inception in 2014 through the 2023 college football season. The precursor to the playoff, the Bowl Championship Series (1998-2013), allowed only the top two teams in the final BCS standings to play in the championship game.
The 12-team CFP will comprise the five highest-ranked conference champions and seven at-large teams.
Of note: With the dissolution of the Pac-12 Conference, this guarantees at least one Group of Five champion will make the playoff under the current format. Only one such team made the playoff in the four-team era: Cincinnati, which went 13-0 in the 2021 regular season and claimed the No. 4 spot as champions of the American Athletic Conference.
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The top four of the five highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded 1-4, earning first-round byes and advancing straight to the quarterfinals. The fifth conference champion will be seeded in the same position it was ranked inside the top 12 (or at No. 12 overall, if it finished outside the top 12 rankings). The remaining teams will be ranked beginning at No. 5 all the way through No. 12.
This format means the final CFP rankings of the season won’t necessarily align with the final seeding. For example, last year’s final CFP rankings saw Oklahoma finish No. 12; but because a Group of Five team didn’t rank ahead of the Sooners, they would have been excluded from a 12-team playoff in favor of Conference USA’s Liberty, which was the highest-ranked Group of Five champion, at No. 23.
The format puts a premium on winning conference championships, as the first four seeds earn byes. It also means that Notre Dame and other independents that don’t play a conference championship game will never have a first-round bye under the current format; the highest they can rank is No. 5.
The top four seeds go straight to the quarterfinals, while the remaining eight teams play in the first round at the higher seed’s home field (or another designated location). This marks the first time there will be home-field advantage in a win-or-go-home scenario in college football.
Seed No. 5 will host No. 12, seed No. 6 will host No. 11, seed No. 7 will host No. 10 and seed No. 8 will host No. 9.
Following the conclusion of the first-round games, the No. 1 team will play the winner of the 8-9 game; No. 2 will play the winner of the 7-10 game; No. 3 will play the winner of the 6-11 game; and No. 4 will host the winner of the 5-12 game.
The four quarterfinal games will be hosted at one of four of the New Year’s Six bowls, with the playoff committee assigning bowls based on seeding and historical ties to conferences. For example, if an SEC team ranked No. 1, it would be given the Sugar Bowl; if the Big Ten was in the top spot, it would receive the Rose Bowl.
The semifinals will comprise the remaining two New Year’s Six games, with the highest seeds getting preferential placement in bowls. From there, the winners of the semifinals will advance to play each other in the College Football Playoff championship game.
Other notes regarding the CFP format, courtesy of the College Football Playoff:
Here are the dates for the 2025 College Football Playoff (for the 2024 college football season). It consists of three rounds before the national championship:
First round:
Quarterfinals:
Semifinals:
CFP championship:
Here is how the 2024 College Football Playoff (for the 2023 college football season) would have shaken out after conference championship week last year:
First round
Quarterfinals