New format confirmed for 12-team College Football Playoff

The College Football Playoff (CFP) has confirmed the new format for the 12-team playoff, the CFP Board of Managers announced on Tuesday.

The 2024 season will be the first for the College Football Playoff with an expanded 12-team field. Under the new format, the 12-teams will include the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams as determined by the CFP Selection Committee (5-7 format).

Prior to the departure of 10 teams from the Pac-12 Conference last year, the format called for the six highest-ranked conference champions and the next six highest-ranked teams.

“This is a very logical adjustment for the College Football Playoff based on the evolution of our conference structures since the board first adopted this new format in September 2022,” said Dr. Mark Keenum, President of Mississippi State University and Chair of the CFP Board of Managers. “I know this change will also be well received by student-athletes, coaches and fans. We all will be pleased to see this new format come to life on the field this postseason.”

The 2024 College Football Playoff will begin with four first-round games that will be played on the campus of the higher-seeded team. One game will be played on Friday, Dec. 20 with the remaining three games played on Saturday, Dec. 21.

The quarterfinals in 2024 will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024 at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025 at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl Game, and Allstate Sugar Bowl.

The 2024 College Football Playoff Semifinals are slated for Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 at the Capital One Orange Bowl and Friday, Jan. 10, 2025 at the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Semifinal winners will then meet in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.

Below is the complete list of games with kickoff windows for the 2024 season:

2024 Season

First Round (On-Campus)

• Friday, December 20, 2024: One Game (evening)
• Saturday, December 21, 2024: Three Games (early afternoon, late afternoon and evening)

Quarterfinals

• Tuesday, December 31, 2024: Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (evening)
• Wednesday, January 1, 2025: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (early afternoon), Rose Bowl Game (late afternoon) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (evening)

Semifinals

• Thursday, January 9, 2025: Capital One Orange Bowl (evening)
• Friday, January 10, 2025: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (evening)

CFP National Championship

• Monday, January 20, 2025: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia

College Football Playoff Schedule