Projected 2024 12-Team CFP Bracket

**Expanded College Football Playoff Looms: How a 12-Team Bracket Could Look Based on Initial 2023 Rankings**

The release of the first College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings for the 2023 season on Tuesday, October 31st, not only set the stage for this year’s championship race but also ignited discussions about the highly anticipated 12-team playoff format, which officially debuts in the 2024 season. Sports analysts wasted no time in projecting how the expanded bracket might have looked if this year’s initial rankings were applied to the new structure, offering a tantalizing glimpse into college football’s future.

The current four-team playoff system will give way to a significantly larger field, promising broader representation and heightened stakes throughout the regular season. Under the new format, which culminates with the 2025 championship game, 12 teams will vie for the national title. A key feature of this expanded playoff is that the four highest-ranked conference champions will receive a coveted first-round bye, automatically advancing to the quarterfinals.

Applying this rule to the initial October 31st rankings, the teams projected to earn these byes would be No. 1 Georgia (SEC), No. 2 Michigan (Big Ten), No. 3 Florida State (ACC), and No. 4 Washington (Pac-12). Each of these teams, assuming they maintain their conference-champion status and high rankings, would bypass the opening round of games.

Following the top four, the remaining eight teams would battle it out in first-round matchups, hosted by the higher seeds at their home stadiums. Based on the initial 2023 CFP rankings, these projected first-round contests would include:

* No. 12 Oregon traveling to play No. 5 Oklahoma
* No. 11 Ole Miss heading to No. 6 Tulane, who would secure a spot as the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion, a guaranteed berth in the new format.
* No. 10 Penn State playing at No. 7 Ohio State
* No. 9 Alabama going on the road to face No. 8 Texas

It’s crucial to note that these projections are speculative and based on rankings from early in the 2023 season. The College Football Playoff Selection Committee will issue new rankings weekly, and the final selections for the 2024 season will depend on end-of-season conference championships and committee evaluations.

**The Official 2024-2025 Playoff Schedule and Venues**

The expanded playoff format comes with a structured schedule and rotation of iconic bowl games. For the 2024 season, leading into the 2025 championship, the key dates and locations are set:

* **First Round:** Four games are scheduled for Friday, December 20, and Saturday, December 21, 2024, played at the home stadiums of the higher-seeded teams.
* **Quarterfinals:** These four games will be hosted by premier bowl games. On Tuesday, December 31, 2024, matchups will take place in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Arizona) and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Atlanta, Georgia). On Wednesday, January 1, 2025, the remaining quarterfinal games will be held in the Capital One Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, Florida) and the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic (Arlington, Texas).
* **Semifinals:** The two semifinal games for the 2024 season are designated for two of college football’s most storied venues: the Rose Bowl Game (Pasadena, California) and the Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, Louisiana). Both semifinals will be played on Wednesday, January 1, 2025.
* **National Championship:** The ultimate grand finale, the College Football Playoff National Championship, is scheduled for Monday, January 20, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

This new 12-team playoff, a significant departure from the current four-team model, is designed to increase opportunities for more teams, including a guaranteed spot for the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion. The format aims to reduce the controversy often surrounding playoff selections and promises an exhilarating postseason, creating more meaningful games deeper into the college football calendar. As the 2023 season unfolds, the anticipation for this groundbreaking shift in college football’s landscape continues to build. More details on the official format can be found at collegefootballplayoff.com.