College Football Playoff selection show: Playoff bracket, rankings
Full College Football Playoff announced
The full 12-team playoff was revealed Sunday, with four teams earning first-round byes, and eight teams scheduled to play in the first round on campuses.
The 12-teams, in-order of their seeding are (CFP Ranking):
- Oregon (1)
- Georgia (2)
- Boise State (9)
- Arizona State (12)
- Texas (3)
- Penn State (4)
- Notre Dame (5)
- Ohio State (6)
- Tennessee (7)
- Indiana (8)
- SMU (10)
- Clemson (16)
No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Tennessee
A game between two big name brands with a trip to the Rose Bowl on the line. No. 9 Tennessee and No. 8 Ohio State will play for just the second-time ever, and the first since the 1996 Citrus Bowl.
Ohio State's loss to Michigan in the last week of the regular season knocked them out of the Big Ten Championship game and contention for a first round bye. But the Buckeyes still have a first round home playoff game with a chance to earn a rematch with Oregon, who they lost to by one point in October.
Tennessee makes the College Football Playoff for the first round in program history on the back of a top-five scoring defense and electric running back Dylan Sampson.
When: Saturday, December 21 at 8 p.m.
Where: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
How to Watch: ABC/ESPN
No. 12 Clemson vs. No. 5 Texas
No. 12 Clemson will play No. 5 Texas for the first time in program history.
Clemson earns the 12-seed despite being ranked at No.16. Clemson beat SMU in the ACC championship on a game-winning field goal as time expired to earn an out-bid as a conference champion.
No. 5 Texas lost twice to Georgia this season, once at home and once in the SEC championship. But the Longhorns are undefeated against the other 11 teams that they have played.
When: Saturday, December 21 at 4 p.m.
Where: Darrell K. Royal Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, TX
How to Watch: TNT/MAX
No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 11 SMU
No. 6 Penn State will play No. 11 SMU for the third time in program history, and the first since 1978.
Both of these teams make the College Football Playoff with 11-1 regular season records, and conference championship game losses on their resume.
SMU, in its first season in the ACC, made it to the conference championship game after finishing the regular season with an undefeated record in conference.
Penn State gets the coveted first-round home game on the back of quarterback Drew Allar and dynamic tight end Tyler Warren. Penn State scored 37 points against No. 1 Oregon in the Big Ten title game.
When: Saturday, December 21 at 12 p.m. ET
Where: Beaver Stadium, State College, PA
How to Watch: TNT/MAX
No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 10 Indiana
The first round of the College Football Playoff is set to begin on Friday, December 20 in South Bend, Indiana, where No. 7 Notre Dame will host an in-state rivalry match-up with No. 10 Indiana.
Both of these teams finished the regular season 11-1 with a statement win over a rival in the last week of the regular season. No. 7 Notre Dame scored 49 points on the road in a two-touchdown win over USC, while No. 10 Indiana embarrassed in-state rival Purdue, 66-0.
When: Friday, December 20 at 8 p.m.
Where: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN.
How to Watch: ABC/ESPN
Alabama, Miami left out of 2024 CFP
Alabama and Miami are the first two teams out of the 2024 College Football Playoff.
Alabama, which finished 11th in the CFP rankings, misses the playoff after Clemson won the ACC championship to earn an auto-bid in the playoff, despite being ranked 16th.
Miami finishes at CFP rank 13. The Hurricanes lost to Syracuse in the last week of the regular season to miss the ACC championship and the College Football Playoff.
Top four seeds in the 2024 College Football Playoff revealed
The four highest-ranked conference champions earn first-round byes in the 2024 College Football Playoff.
These four teams, in order, are:
- Oregon (Big Ten Champion)
- Georgia (SEC Champion)
- Boise State (Mountain West Champion)
- Arizona State (Big 12 Champion)
College Football Playoff Selection Show is today!
How to watch the College Football Playoff selection show
The College Football Playoff selections are set for Sunday, Dec. 8. That's when the entire 12-team bracket will be revealed, along with the final top 25 rankings from the selection committee. Here's how to watch:
- WHEN: 12-4 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 8
- TV: ESPN
- STREAMING:
The main coverage group will be led by Rece Davis with Kirk Herbstreit, Joey Galloway, Booger McFarland and Greg McElroy. Nick Saban, Pete Thamel and Heather Dinich and reporters at team sites will also be involved.
How the CFP works
The College Football Playoff has been around since the 2014 season, but it has a new look this year. The CFP has expanded from four teams to 12, which means there are now automatic qualifiers, byes and more chances for teams to make the field. Here's a short guide:
- The five conference champions ranked highest by the selection committee are in automatically
- The remaining seven teams in the 12-team field will be the next seven highest-ranked teams
- Four of these automatic qualifiers get byes into the quarterfinals and are seeded Nos. 1-4. The fifth-highest-ranked conference champion will be seeded where it was ranked or at No. 12 if it is outside the top 12 rankings
- The teams seeded No. 5-12 will play in the first round, with the higher seeds hosting (No. 12 at No. 5, No. 11 at No. 6, No. 10 at No. 7 and No. 9 at No. 8.)
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Sunday's rankings show is the sixth of the year. Take a look at that schedule here.
2024-25 CFP schedule
As we wait for the official 12-team bracket — and thus the rankings and seedings — here's how this year's CFP schedule looks.
- First round (Dec. 20-21)
- Friday, Dec. 20: 8 p.m. | ABC/ESPN
- Saturday, Dec. 21: 12 p.m. | TNT
- Saturday, Dec. 21: 4 p.m. | TNT
- Saturday, Dec. 21: 8 p.m. | ABC/ESPN
- Quarterfinals (Dec. 31-Jan. 1)
- Fiesta Bowl: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 31 | ESPN
- Peach Bowl: 1 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 1 | ESPN
- Rose Bowl: 5 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 1 | ESPN
- Sugar Bowl: 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 1 | ESPN
- Semifinals (Jan. 9-10)
- Orange Bowl: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9 | ESPN
- Cotton Bowl: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10 | ESPN
- CFP National Championship
- 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 20 | ESPN
- Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia
College Football Playoff championship history
Here's a rundown of all prior College Football Playoff championship games.
| Year (SEASON) |
Game | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | No. 4 Ohio State 42, No. 2 Oregon 20 | Arlington, Texas |
| 2015 | No. 2 Alabama 45, No. 1 Clemson 40 | Glendale, Arizona |
| 2016 | No. 2 Clemson 35, No. 1 Alabama 31 | Tampa, Florida |
| 2017 | No. 4 Alabama 26, No. 3 Georgia 23 | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 2018 | No. 2 Clemson 44, No. 1 Alabama 16 | Santa Clara, California |
| 2019 | No. 1 LSU 42, No. 3 Clemson 25 | New Orleans, Louisiana |
| 2020 | No. 1 Alabama 52, No. 3 Ohio State 24 | Miami Gardens, Florida |
| 2021 | No. 3 Georgia 33, No. 1 Alabama 18 | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| 2022 | No. 1 Georgia 65, No. 3 TCU 7 | Inglewood, California |
| 2023 | No. 1 Michigan 34, No. 2 Washington 13 | Houston, Texas |