College Football Playoff Explained: What You Need to Know

For some, the new year is a time for resolutions, celebration and family. For most, it’s time for the College Football Playoff. 12 teams will compete for the College Football Playoff National Championship, but how are these teams decided? Find out how the College Football Playoff works below.

How are Teams Selected for the College Football Playoff?

Who Decides the College Football Playoff Rankings?

The College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings are decided by a 13-member selection committee, known as the CFP Selection Committee. Composed of coaches, former players, athletic directors, college administrators and journalists, the committee is responsible for determining the top 12 teams that will make up the CFP. The CFP Selection Committee is also responsible for creating the ranking of the top 25 teams, which is updated and released six or seven times per season. The final rankings that determine who will be in the CFP are announced on Selection Day in early December.

Members of the CFP Selection Committee are chosen by the CFP Management Committee. The CFP Management Committee is composed of 10 Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) conference commissioners as well as the Notre Dame athletic director. CFP Selection Committee members typically serve one three-year term.

How are Rankings Decided?

According to the CFP Selection Committee Protocol, “Ranking football teams is an art, not a science.” Therefore, the CFP Selection Committee develops their national rankings using a combination of individual expertise and enhanced metrics, including strength of schedule, win-loss records, conference championships won, opponents’ record, head-to-head results against common opponents, video review, statistics and player injuries and availability.

The Voting Process

Starting in the middle of the NCAAF regular season, all 13 CFP Selection Committee members meet on a weekly basis to deliver a new top 25 poll. Each meeting consists of a multi-step voting process with seven total rounds of ranking. All votes are conducted by secret ballot and each round is broken up by committee discussion. Once a voting session is complete, an updated CFP ranking is unveiled on the following Tuesday. The Selection Committee voting process follows:

1. Initial Pool: Each member compiles a list of 30 teams, in no particular order. Teams listed by three or more members will be under consideration for the overall ranking pool, though more teams can be added later with three or more committee votes.
2. Listing Step: Each member lists the six best teams from the initial pool, in no particular order.
3. Ranking Pool: The six teams with the most votes are grouped into a ranking pool.
4. In voting rounds two through seven, the ranking pool will consist of the two teams from the previous ranking pool that received the fewest votes (holdovers) and the top four teams from the new, six-team listing step.
5. Ranking Step: Members individually rank the teams one through six, with one being the best and receiving 1 point. All ballots are tallied and the four lowest point-getters are ranked first through fourth on the final CFP poll.
6. After 16 teams have been placed, the ranking step only adds three teams per round.
7. Next Round Begins: Repeat from Step 2 until all 25 spots on the Seed List are filled.

Recused CFP Committee Members

A recused member is any member of the CFP Selection Committee who is directly related to, or has an immediate family member related to, a team that is under consideration for ranking. Being a recused member involves being compensated for a salaried position or a consulting arrangement from a school as well as being a former player or coach of a school. A recused member will not participate in any votes involving the school or team they are recused from.

How Does Seeding Work for the College Football Playoff?

The Selection Committee’s seed list determines the 12-team postseason tournament bracket, which consists of the six-highest ranked conference champions and the six-highest ranked non-conference champions. In a 2025 format change, the four highest-ranked teams overall receive a bye while the remaining eight play for the last four quarterfinal slots. Four quarterfinal matches follow, then the winners from the two semifinal games advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

What Bowl Games Make Up the College Football Playoff?

The CFP quarterfinal and semifinal games rotate annually between three sets of longstanding bowl games known as the New Year’s Six (a.k.a. “NY6”). Named for their traditional holiday schedule, the NY6 bowl game pairs are the Peach Bowl in Atlanta and the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix; the Orange Bowl in Miami and the Cotton Bowl in Dallas; and, finally, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. The 2025 CFP semifinal games will be played at the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona and the Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

What are the New Year’s Six Bowl Games?

The New Year’s Six bowl games are the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Peach Bowl and Fiesta Bowl. Although all six games were historically held on or around December 31 and January 1, the schedule extended to mid-January when the postseason field expanded to 12 teams in 2024. The New Year’s Six bowl games are now the permanent home of the CFP quarterfinal and semifinal rounds and cycle through on a three-year basis.

What Teams Have Won the College Football Playoff?

Since the 2014 change to the CFP only six teams have won the CFP National Championship. The CFP-winning teams have been Ohio State (2024, 2014), Michigan (2023), Georgia (2022, 2021), Alabama (2020, 2017, 2015), LSU (2019) and Clemson (2018, 2016).

How Do I Get Tickets for the College Football Playoff?

You can get National Championship tickets at Ticketmaster, the Official Ticket Marketplace of the College Football Playoff National Championship. Upcoming NCAA College Football games can be found below, including college bowl game tickets.