The SEC reigns supreme as the conference with the most success in the College Football Playoff.
Since the implementation of the four-team CFP in the 2014 season and later expansion to 12 teams in 2024, the SEC has the best record (20-11) and most titles (six) of the conferences through the first round of the 2025 CFP. It's also the home of the program with the most wins — Alabama, which has three CFP crowns and a 10-5 record.
Here's the complete summary of how conferences have done in the CFP.
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Note that records are related to the conferences the teams were in at the time of the games, not where they are now. For example, Texas' 2023 CFP performance (0-1 record) counts for the Big 12, as the Longhorns were in that conference that season. But with Texas moving to the SEC in 2024, the Longhorns' 2-1 record in the 2024 CFP run is included with the overall SEC record. Also, Notre Dame competes as an independent but played in the ACC in the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so the Irish's 2020 appearance in the CFP is included in ACC stats.
| Conference | W-L record | Championships |
|---|---|---|
| SEC | 20-11 | 6 (2015, 2017 and 2020 Alabama; 2019 LSU; 2021 and 2022 Georgia) |
| Big Ten | 12-10 | 3 (2014 and 2024 Ohio State; 2023 Michigan) |
| ACC | 7-8 | 2 (2016 and 2018 Clemson) |
| Independent | 3-2 | 0 |
| Pac-12 | 2-3 | 0 |
| Big 12 | 1-7 | 0 |
| American | 0-2 | 0 |
| Mountain West | 0-1 | 0 |
| Sun Belt | 0-1 | 0 |
Through the first 11 seasons of the College Football Playoff era, only three conferences have won it all — and the SEC has won more than half of the national championships.
In fact, the SEC has picked up at least one win in the CFP every year besides 2014 (Alabama lost to Ohio State) and 2023 (Alabama lost to Michigan). It also had the only intra-conference matchup for the championship in the four-team CFP era, as Alabama met Georgia in both the 2017 and 2021 seasons.
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In the first year of the 12-team playoff era, the Big Ten picked up the most wins with six in the 2024 CFP:
- Big Ten: 6-3 (Ohio State also won the national championship)
- Independent: 3-1
- SEC: 2-3
- Big 12 and Mountain West: 0-1
- ACC: 0-2
