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Overview of the 2024-25 College Football Playoff (CFP) Bracket

The 2024-25 College Football Playoff (CFP) bracket marks a significant change in how the postseason is structured. This year, the CFP features a 12-team bracket, expanding from the previous 4-team format, with the final rankings and seeding announced on Sunday, December 8, 2024. The bracket includes automatic berths for the highest-ranked conference champions, as well as at-large selections from various conferences.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the bracket and its structure.

Key Changes in the 12-Team Format

The expansion to 12 teams introduces several important rules and changes:

  1. Top Four Seeds and Byes: The four highest-ranked conference champions automatically receive the top four seeds and a first-round bye, regardless of their ranking in the overall top 25. These teams don’t play in the first round, advancing directly to the quarterfinals.
  2. At-Large Teams: After the top four conference champions, the next teams to make the playoff are selected at-large. These are teams that didn’t win their respective conferences but still had strong enough seasons to earn a spot.
  3. Seeding Flexibility: The CFP committee considers both conference championships and overall performance when seeding teams. For example, Boise State, despite being ranked No. 9, earned a bye as the third-highest-ranked conference champion, while Arizona State, ranked No. 12, earned the No. 4 seed as the fourth-highest-ranked conference champion.

Teams in the Playoff

The playoff field consists of conference champions and at-large picks. The top four seeds are awarded to the highest-ranked conference champions, while teams ranked No. 5 through No. 12 are at-large selections.

Top 12 Teams:

  1. Oregon (Big Ten Champion) – No. 1 Seed
  2. Georgia (SEC Champion) – No. 2 Seed
  3. Boise State (Mountain West Champion) – No. 3 Seed
  4. Arizona State (Big 12 Champion) – No. 4 Seed
  5. Texas (At-large, SEC) – No. 5 Seed
  6. Penn State (At-large, Big Ten) – No. 6 Seed
  7. Notre Dame (At-large, Independent) – No. 7 Seed
  8. Ohio State (At-large, Big Ten) – No. 8 Seed
  9. Tennessee (At-large, SEC) – No. 9 Seed
  10. Indiana (At-large, Big Ten) – No. 10 Seed
  11. SMU (At-large, ACC) – No. 11 Seed
  12. Clemson (ACC Champion) – No. 12 Seed

Notable Exclusions:

  • Alabama: Ranked just outside the top 12, making them the first team excluded.
  • Miami (Fla.), Ole Miss, South Carolina: Other teams that did not make the playoff.

First Round Matchups (Dec. 20-21)

The first round is scheduled for Dec. 20 and Dec. 21, with the following matchups:

  1. Friday, Dec. 20
    • No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame, 8:00 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN)
  2. Saturday, Dec. 21
    • No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State, 12:00 p.m. ET (TNT/Max)
    • No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas, 4:00 p.m. ET (TNT/Max)
    • No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State, 8:00 p.m. ET (ABC/ESPN)

These are crucial matchups, as the winners will advance to the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinals (Dec. 31-Jan. 1)

After the first round, the four winners will move on to the quarterfinals, held at iconic bowl venues:

  1. Tuesday, Dec. 31
    • No. 3 Boise State vs. Winner of Penn State/SMU, 7:30 p.m. ET (Fiesta Bowl)
  2. Wednesday, Jan. 1
    • No. 4 Arizona State vs. Winner of Texas/Clemson, 1:00 p.m. ET (Peach Bowl)
    • No. 1 Oregon vs. Winner of Ohio State/Tennessee, 5:00 p.m. ET (Rose Bowl)
    • No. 2 Georgia vs. Winner of Indiana/Notre Dame, 8:45 p.m. ET (Sugar Bowl)

These four games will determine the finalists for the semifinals, and the matchups are set to feature high-level competition.

Semifinals (Jan. 9-10)

The four quarterfinal winners will advance to the semifinals:

  1. Thursday, Jan. 9
    • Semifinal 1 (Orange Bowl), 7:30 p.m. ET
  2. Friday, Jan. 10
    • Semifinal 2 (Cotton Bowl), 7:30 p.m. ET

The winners of these games will meet in the National Championship on Jan. 20.

National Championship (Jan. 20)

The National Championship game will be held on Jan. 20, 2025 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. This game will feature the winners of the two semifinal games, with the ultimate goal of crowning the national champion of college football.

Explanation of Seeding and Bowls

The 12-team playoff structure is designed to balance conference championships, at-large selections, and traditional bowl tie-ins. Here are the key points:

  1. First-Round Byes: The four highest-ranked conference champions receive automatic byes, which means they don’t compete in the first round of the playoffs.
  2. Conference Champions: The top four spots are reserved for the highest-ranked conference champions, ensuring that the power conferences (Big Ten, SEC, Mountain West, Big 12) are well-represented in the playoff.
  3. Bowls Hosting Quarterfinals: For historical reasons, the quarterfinal games are played at the Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Sugar Bowl. These bowl games have long been prestigious in college football and offer familiar settings for fans and teams.
  4. No Re-Seeding: Once the bracket is set, there is no re-seeding after the first round. Teams stay in their designated spots throughout the tournament.

Summary of Key Points

  • The 2024-25 CFP is a 12-team format with four first-round byes.
  • The top four seeds are awarded to the highest-ranked conference champions, and they automatically advance to the quarterfinals.
  • At-large teams make up the remaining spots, with a mix of conference runners-up and highly-ranked teams that didn’t win their conference.
  • The first round features matchups between seeds 5-12, while the quarterfinals will be held in traditional bowl games.
  • Semifinals will be played at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl, leading up to the National Championship on Jan. 20, 2025.

This expanded format promises more exciting matchups and greater inclusivity, as more teams have a shot at competing for the national title.

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