The four-team College Football Playoff format replaced the BCS Championship Game back in 2014. In the last near-decade, we’ve watched Alabama win it all three times, Georgia and Clemson take home two titles apiece, and LSU and Ohio State claim a championship. Everything will change beginning in the 2024-25 season, making this year the last that the four-team CFP format will be used.
After the 2024 season wraps up, 12 teams will be selected to compete in the playoffs. The top four conference champions — likely, from the Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, and ACC — will get a bye in the first round. The other eight teams include six at-large bids and the two next-highest ranked conference champions. The six at-large teams will be based on CFP rankings, voted on by the committee.
Before the offseason realignment drama, this would have ensured that each Power 5 conference winner and one Group of 5 conference winner would reach the postseason each year. However, with the dissolution of the Pac-12, it is unclear whether the College Football Playoff committee intends on changing that rule.
In the first round, seeds 5 through 8 will host seeds 9 through 12 at their home stadiums. The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will take place at the New Years Bowl locations (Orange, Peach, Fiesta, Cotton, Rose, Sugar) that will rotate rounds each year.